Friday, October 24, 2008

My Civic Duty

Mom and I totally “rocked the vote” yesterday. Daniel hates that saying; he thinks it’s the most stupid tag line EVER. He’s no fun! I think it’s awesomely cheesy and I just LOVE it! We are early voters. We like to vote early and vote often! Ok, maybe not the often, but the voting early for sure. We don’t mind standing in line for 45 minutes waiting for our chance to “make a difference”. It never occurred to me how important voting was and I never gave it much thought. It was something I took for granted and treated extremely flippantly. I had never been told I couldn’t vote and the people who made that possible were far from my mind. And then something changed. I went through a “must watch the news” phase, I’m over it now; it’s nothing but depressing sadness. But while I was watching the news, the Iraqi people got to vote for the very first time. And I was inundated with images of women who risked death to stand in line for hours just to vote for the very first time. These women were PROUD to vote! They didn’t care if they made it back or not, they were going to vote. How awesome is that?! They understood, they got it! It took me watching the national news to understand how important my freedom to vote is. And since then I’ve made a promise to make an educated decision at every election.



I’m a total nerd too! I print up every comparison thing I can find and pick the candidate that is right for me. I highlight what I agree with and I vote for the person with the most highlights. I must admit that I’m not always completely satisfied with my options and I know better then to debate politics with ANYONE. I’m also not going to let Oprah or Saturday Night Live sway my vote either. I have my own mind and my own convictions. And I do hate politicians! They all say what we want to hear but none of them know what they’re doing! Not one of them! They get in to office and do whatever they’re told to do by the people advising them. Ok, I’m getting off of my soap box.

All I know is that I never have to risk death to vote. People came before me to make sure of that. And now I willingly and happily head out to every election day with a since of duty and pride. What an honor it is to get the opportunity to select my leaders!

So read up on the candidates and go “Rock the Vote”!  Daniel is shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He really wishes I would let that tag line die. 

Until next time...

2 comments:

In the Mix said...

Well said!

We were driving home from Pennsylvania this last week and I saw a billboard that said "Art the Vote". I'm pretty sure I like "Rock the Vote" better. But, who knows, those artists might take over...

Timberley, Queen of Everything said...

Crazy Artists! Several years ago MTV did the "Vote or Die" campaign but that seems a little bit melodramatic for me and I'm the Queen of Melodrama! :)