On Oct. 27, 1980, my family and I landed in Miami, newcomers from Colombia. On Nov. 12, 1991, I raised my right hand in the New York State Supreme Court in Rochester and became an American. Next week, I mark 46 years in this country and, just over two weeks later, 35 years as a citizen. Between those two dates falls Election Day. I do not intend to waste this significant opportunity.

Communist revolutionaries in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia spent half a century tearing the country apart. They murdered thousands of Colombians and drove more than 7 million from their homes. Their promise was justice and equality. The delivery was kidnapping, massacre, and fear. That is not a theory to me. It is a memory.

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