It is likely my vote will not decide the next president of the republic, but I intend to vote. The wonder of being an American is this right that’s enshrined in the Constitution, even though for many it has been impossible. During the Jim Crow era, and KKK dominated Colorado’s government, women and large numbers of BIPOC people couldn’t vote. The mere existence of the Constitution doesn’t guarantee that those who live under its jurisdiction will always respect its written intentions. To me, the vote is the ultimate expression of freedom to be, to love and to live. A stolen vote equals denial of citizenship.

The foregoing is simple and goes without saying. Sadly I personally have been visited by discouraging voices; the rain of nativist wrath that drops equally, indiscriminately on immigrants, has fallen on me. I best remember CR’s letters. For years, CR — initials of my correspondent’s name — sent me nasty, excoriating letters about my newspaper columns, often questioning my intelligence. On several occasions he suggested I return to Africa. His intentions were clear: discourage my writing and question my citizenship. But I have faith in my rights as a citizen and a human being, I ignored CR.

Most of my writing then was, inter alia, about police brutality, poor education of Blacks, redlining by banks — enough fodder for CR’s poison pen’s dark thoughts about the poor who looked up to the federal government for protection and often, for support. According to CR, they deserved nothing.

Something CR disliked passionately was my writing showed a liberal bent. At the end of the 20th and the first decade of the 21st century, liberals were likened to vermin. I ran as far away as I could whenever a liberal sounding thought approached me. Ideas were disguised not to be called liberal. The right used the pejorative term on anyone who didn’t fly the flag of absolute conservatism.

Like many, I stepped gingerly across the slippery surface of semantics. I knew the best among us were those who could visualize the world with open eyes and open hearts. To me, the idea of being liberal was to look at the poor, the sick and hungry with compassion, charity and a Christlike desire to offer them succor. Because children can’t choose their parents, or the geography of their birth, educating and loving all children without judging their parentage was the epitome of wisdom.

Our health care inflicts pain of untreated conditions on the marginalized; it over-burdens ER doctors who work on those who didn’t die in the process. Consequently, as I toiled in hospital emergency rooms, managing the uninsured suffering from neglected conditions made worse by their lack of insurance, I considered the merits of universal health care.

I also felt that each one of us had a responsibility: to ourselves, our family and neighbors. And to depend on the taxpayer and the government for all one’s needs, I thought, was irresponsible. Additionally, all men should be responsible for the children they procreate; men had as much responsibility for families as the women they went to bed with. I preached the Ugandan ABC song: Abstinence, Be faithful, and use a Condom. It was my belief that so much trouble is avoided, by practicing and enacting simple rules that didn’t require the voice of God. I wrote that leaders needed to be trustworthy, responsible and faithful in upholding their sworn oaths.

Strangely, my columns about the foregoing ideas were termed illiberal. CR was quick to crow: “Suddenly you have seen the light,” contradicting his “Go back to Africa.” Where I am going with this is that we should entertain many, varied ideas, as long as they are based on reason. Sometimes ideas that are crystal clear to me are opaque and incomprehensible to many. Surely a discussion about different viewpoints should be welcome. In itself — reaching agreement through discussion is a classic liberal idea. One can still be a liberal American, despite harboring many unresolved doubts.

As I cast my vote, I reject wearing any label only to satisfy someone else’s definition of my ideas and opinions. I think that ideally, we should be willing to challenge ourselves with a broader vision of life and our common humanity. As long as our thoughts and ideas are viewed through the lens of reason and good judgment, we should be what we are.

Pius Kamau, M.D., a retired general surgeon, is president of the Aurora-based Africa America Higher Education Partnerships; co-founder of the Africa Enterprise Group and an activist for minority students’ STEM education. He is a National Public Radio commentator, a Huffington Post blogger, a past columnist for Denver dailies and is featured on the podcast, “Never Again.”