I am a Christian. I was born and raised in a Southern Baptist home in the South, and I’m actively involved in my church. I’m also a taxpayer, and I’ve been a registered Republican since I was old enough to vote.

These political boxes make me the ideal demographic for some candidates this election season. The campaign texts, emails and flyers in the mail certainly suggest this.

One text from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign even went as far to say, “You’re my only hope.”

But not so fast. I’m also a childless cat lady.

I know that just like everyone else, I am so much more complex than any one “political box.” I also understand that our political discourse narrows people into caricatures rather than broadens them into complexity. I don’t vote along party lines, but I have hoped that after elections end, the winners would seek to represent the best interests of all their constituents.

As I’ve gotten older, though, I’ve learned that I’ve been a bit naive to think our elected leaders would strive to represent all of us. That point really hit home this summer when J.D. Vance’s comment about childless cat ladies resurfaced. It’s a whole new political box for me.

Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, made the comment in 2021 when he was seeking a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. In an interview, he said the country was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

Vance and other candidates — on all sides of politics — forget we are complex people. We’re a combination of the decisions we’ve made but also the circumstances of life that get thrown at us: where we’re born, the deaths of those we love, illnesses, layoffs. We endure these experiences not because we choose them but because we are alive in an imperfect world.

Some people choose not to get married. Some people choose not to have children. Some people want both of those things — to be married and have children — but they simply weren’t a reality for them.

No matter the circumstances of our lives, we have value — equal value because we’re human beings. My value as a human being isn’t found in whether I have children.

If we are to agree that all life is sacred, even at conception, that means all life is sacred long after our first breath. It remains sacred even when people make decisions or hold political viewpoints we may disagree with. It remains sacred even when people don’t fit into those political boxes.

The best political leaders prioritize other people. They recognize the inherent dignity in all people. This is especially so during moments of disagreement. But time and time again, we see politicians masquerading as leaders. They use their unthoughtful words and actions to boost themselves or like-minded supporters. It’s a closed loop.

Part of what I love about editing commentaries and letters at the Express-News is engaging with readers from all types of backgrounds who offer varied perspectives. I didn’t write this commentary to call out Democrats or Republicans. It’s a check on all of us.

No one should be told they fit into a “basket of deplorables,” and no one should be dismissed as someone not invested in our country’s future because they don’t have biological children.

The comments from Vance are old. That means there has been plenty of time to take a step back and rethink his take on things, clarify or even apologize. But that would take real courage.

I know we all can do the courageous thing by recognizing each other as whole people, made up of many aspects of life. I see the thoughtfulness and different perspectives every day in the letters readers send to our paper.

There is a human life on the other end of each of those letters. There is a human life on the other end of each vote. Each of those lives is rich and complex and full of meaning.

Melissa Murphy is op-ed and letters editor at the San Antonio Express-News. She was the Sentinel’s managing editor from 2018-2022.