Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have declared the 2020 election to be the “most important election of our lifetime” while urging people to stand against “hate speech” as they build “communities of compassion.”
Appearing on ABC to accept TIME Magazine honoring them on their annual list of 100 most influential people in the world, the former senior royals began first by denouncing online negativity more broadly before tying it into the 2020 election.
“It’s time to not only reflect, but act.” This #NationalVoterRegistrationDay, join #Time100 alumni Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in taking action for the future. pic.twitter.com/JerXHxiZK3
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) September 23, 2020
“Thank you, TIME, for including us in this very special evening, and congratulations to this year’s transformative leaders and change-makers. You worked tirelessly to create a better world, a better global community for us and we thank you and celebrate you tonight,” Harry began.
“You’re playing a critical role for our future and then of our children. Seeing our world through the lens of community is so important because we need to redraw the lines of how we engage with each other, both online and off,” said Meghan. “What we’re exposed to online seeps into how we engage with each other off-line. It can train us to be kind or can train us to be cruel.”
Harry said that this overwhelming negativity online erodes peoples’ sense of compassion and their ability to empathize.
“When the bad outweighs the good, for many, whether we realize it or not, it erodes our ability to have compassion and our ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes,” said the Duke of Sussex. “Because when one person buys into negativity online, the effects are felt exponentially. It’s time not only to reflect but act.”
With that, Meghan Markle then tied this message into the coming presidential election, declaring it to be the most important election of our lifetime. She did not say which candidate to vote for.
“Now we’re just six weeks out from election day and today is national voter registration day,” she said. “Every four years we were told the same thing: this is the most important election of our lifetime. But this one is. When we vote, our values are put into action in our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter, because you do and you deserve to be heard.”
“As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity,” Harry added.
Markle finished by encouraging people to help build “communities of compassion” as they seek to “reimagine the world around us.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s get out the vote came shortly after radical feminist Gloria Steinem said that she and Markle have been cold-calling voters together.
“The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and cold-called voters and said ‘Hello, I’m Meg’ and ‘Hello, I’m Gloria’ and ‘Are you going to vote?’ That was her initiative.” Steinem told Access Hollywood.
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