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Breaking with tradition
Nov. 4th, 2008 10:37 amAs you may have noticed, I have carefully kept my journal a politics-free zone this entire election cycle. I am going to post just this one "political post" and then I'm back to being politics free. Promise. Keep in polite in the comments, or you will find your comment deleted and yourself banned. My journal. My rules.
I am breaking with the tradition I've seen across my friends list in this post. I am not going to tell you to go vote. You know it is election day. You know it is a presidential election year. If you are going to vote, you have already planned to vote, chosen your candidates, weighed your options, studied the issues, and made an intelligent decision. If you woke up this morning from a coma and seeing this post in my journal is your first indication that you should vote today, I'd just as soon you didn't vote. I know, I know, this statement may seem patriotic blasphemy to some, but that's how I feel. Yes, our forefathers and suffragette sisters worked hard so that we would have the right to vote, but they did so so that we would make intelligent decisions based on facts to elect the president who would lead our country most capably. If you have done your research, go vote. If you haven't, stay in and watch The Today Show.
I will also not say in my journal that "it doesn't matter who you vote for, so long as you vote." This, in my opinion, is smoke blowing, right up there with "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Bullshit. Yes, how you play matters, but so do winning and losing. If you never win, you'll never learn to be a gracious winner. If you never lose, you'll never learn how to be a gracious loser. If it really doesn't matter who you vote for, why in the hell would you go vote? This is not kindergarten, where everyone gets a participant's ribbon and a Capri-Sun. This is the election of the leader of the free world. I'm hoping for a quick and definite victory for my candidate. I don't want an election that stretches on through recounts and questions. I want a concession speech from the opposing party and victory speech from my candidate of choice.
I voted today. It took me all of five minutes (the advantage of living in a small town) and I was #154 at my polling place at 10:15 this morning. There was no line, although there were other people voting, which is pretty rare. I was proud to cast my blue ballot in my red state, even though it is beyond question who will receive the electors from Oklahoma. I voted in this election, as I do in every election, as I have in every election since I turned 18.
I voted.
Will you?
I am breaking with the tradition I've seen across my friends list in this post. I am not going to tell you to go vote. You know it is election day. You know it is a presidential election year. If you are going to vote, you have already planned to vote, chosen your candidates, weighed your options, studied the issues, and made an intelligent decision. If you woke up this morning from a coma and seeing this post in my journal is your first indication that you should vote today, I'd just as soon you didn't vote. I know, I know, this statement may seem patriotic blasphemy to some, but that's how I feel. Yes, our forefathers and suffragette sisters worked hard so that we would have the right to vote, but they did so so that we would make intelligent decisions based on facts to elect the president who would lead our country most capably. If you have done your research, go vote. If you haven't, stay in and watch The Today Show.
I will also not say in my journal that "it doesn't matter who you vote for, so long as you vote." This, in my opinion, is smoke blowing, right up there with "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Bullshit. Yes, how you play matters, but so do winning and losing. If you never win, you'll never learn to be a gracious winner. If you never lose, you'll never learn how to be a gracious loser. If it really doesn't matter who you vote for, why in the hell would you go vote? This is not kindergarten, where everyone gets a participant's ribbon and a Capri-Sun. This is the election of the leader of the free world. I'm hoping for a quick and definite victory for my candidate. I don't want an election that stretches on through recounts and questions. I want a concession speech from the opposing party and victory speech from my candidate of choice.
I voted today. It took me all of five minutes (the advantage of living in a small town) and I was #154 at my polling place at 10:15 this morning. There was no line, although there were other people voting, which is pretty rare. I was proud to cast my blue ballot in my red state, even though it is beyond question who will receive the electors from Oklahoma. I voted in this election, as I do in every election, as I have in every election since I turned 18.
I voted.
Will you?
