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Wednesday
Nov052008
Having my say
I put on my new red shoes and blue jeans and headed to my polling place...
where there were no lines!
I was kind of disappointed because I came prepared
with a novel and my ipod
and had visions of in-line comaraderie--
maybe some joking and couple of new friendships.
But I waltzed right in, got my ballot,
stood in the booth, filled in the circles,
put my ballot in the box, and got my sticker.
5 minutes max.
Tonight we'll be making Gabi's pizza dough recipe,
throwing together some voter map pizzas,
and gradually filling in the blank US map
with blue and red
as the results trickle in.
Hooray for democracy!
Hooray for the 19th amendment,
only 88 years ago, giving me the right to vote!
Next presidential election,
my daughter will vote, too. Wow.
On a serious note, I do have firm opinions about this election, as I'm sure you do, too. I don't usually tout my opinions widely because I respect that everyone arrives at their political beliefs and opinions in their own way, prioritizing the issues that are most important in their own lives (the loudest I've gotten here is quietly putting a little image in my sidebar) but I do love to discuss things in person. The thing is, I can see both sides. I have both parties on my family tree, back several generations. There are stands on both sides of the aisle that I believe in.
I am heartened by the fact that, no matter the result tonight, we have four good people willing to put themselves out there for derision/mocking/applause/support/commentary ad nauseum in order to serve our country, to lead us. I'm sure these next years won't be easy for the new commander in chief. So my best wishes to whomever it ends up being.
*Did you know my home state of Utah gave the vote to women in 1870, 50 years before the rest of the country? I think that's applaudable (&, as I remember, my great grandmother was a suffragette who pushed for the 19th amendment early on). Thanks, Grandma Achsa. I thought of you today.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Reader Comments (13)
but I still really really want my candidate to win.
You are funny,
and I love the shoes.
:)
Sweet shoes! I love red shoes! I took a book with me too and was pleasantly surprised there was NO line in Lexington.
Dang, you should have come to my line. I thought I'd breeze in and out, but had to stand there without any reading materials for over an hour.
It was totally worth it.
And I think your guy is going to win. I like him, too.
i had the same experience. i even brought my lunch because i was afraid i'd get hungry in line. i had to vote at the university, and the only line was the one with about 1,000 college kids who were registering to vote.
the old people, like me, got to scoot right through to the "already registered" designated precinct.
I love Oregon. We can mail in our drop off our ballot. I mailed mine a week and a half ago. No lines, just a stamp.
Utah is great that way. Did you know that Brigham Young also had to assign people to be Rebpulicans? Most everyone was a Democrat and in order to gain statehood they needed some Republicans to look more balanced. Funny how things have done a complete 180 there.
Happy Shoesday! Love your red clogs.
It's cool to have two sons that can vote. Only two more years to fully indoctrinate my youngest.
No line? That is a miracle. Hope your guy won...um, mine did! :)
Yay, Lindsey. Mine did too!
I totally vote for those shoes!
And I love the pizza idea.
I didn't know that about Utah....makes me proud. LOVE the red shoes.
Woo Hoo! I'm another Obamamama;)
You know we seem to be in the LDS minority, but that's OK. It's good to be different! I have the hardest time wrapping my head around this LDS/republican thing. I had never heard of it until I lived in this country, and I still can't get used to it. All my family and friends in NZ and Oz are just thrilled that Obama won. Maybe it's a US LDS thing? I don't know!
Love the RED SHOES!! I want some!
Love your thoughts about the election and the amazing privilege it is. I voted about ten days early, and was very heartened to see in the line of about 10 people, some silver hair and some young college students. I am so happy that the young people have sought to be involved this time around. Less cynicism there.