Vote

Election Day was a pretty big deal while I was growing up. My mom always worked the polls, Grandma always came over to spend the whole entire day taking care of us, and my pop, who really never went anywhere but work and to Ty's Daily Double once in a while after us kids were all in bed, always made it a point to go and vote.

Election Day was also a pretty big deal while my son was growing up. We'd get up extra early to go see Grammy at our precinct. All the poll worker ladies would make a big fuss over D and he'd get his own ballot to vote for which he liked better, hamburgers or hot dogs. He'd get his own I Voted Today sticker to wear proudly all day, along with a cookie or two, and then we'd be off to Hardee's for breakfast before work and school.

While I was getting ready to leave the house this morning, a DJ on the radio asked people who weren't planning to vote to call in and explain why not. I listened to one idiot after another ramble on about how their vote didn't matter, or how all politicians are scumbags.

Whatever. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Election Day turned out to be a pretty big deal for me today. Only two of the three new electronic machines were working in my precinct at 7:10 this morning, and for the first time in my life, I waited for probably fifteen minutes to do my civic duty. By the time it was my turn, well I should have been at work already. While I was busy voting, some guy I'd never seen before (which was a bit weird....it's a very small town and these people are mostly my neighbors) had a mini-hissy fit about I'm not sure what; the ID issue or the wait or the equipment failure. Pick one...there was a lot to be ticked off about. But he actually cussed out loud. In the throes of exercising my inalienable right to get called for jury duty, I basically ignored him, but he said something like, "This is bullshit," pretty loudly, and then, "I am never going to vote again."

Whatever. That's the way to show everyone what you're all about.

Personally, I bitch a lot about what's wrong with America. I bitch because I want us to be better human beings. I want us to take better care of our environment and our poor. I want us to be better neighbors and better citizens of this planet. I bitch because I love this country with all of my heart and I want it to be the best it can possibly be for each and every American.

And I have the right to bitch because I use the only power we all share equally to make this country better.

I vote.