Vote.

Today, I went to my polling place and I voted.

I don't mention this to sing my own praises, or pat myself on the back, or demonstrate some sort of intellectual elitism. I mention this because lately I've been thinking alot about what it means to live in a democracy such as ours (let's not get into the argument that it's really a republic, for now let me just use the democracy, okay? kthx. :^) as compared to Haiti, or Iraq, or Iran, or any of the countless other places in the world where the citizens are denied a voice in their own government, where they are exploited and used like a cheap tissue for the benefit of a chosen few. I am extremely thankful that I live in a part of the world where I can hear a presidential candidate speak without (much) fear of a bomb blowing the opposition to smithereens, where I can vote based on my own beliefs and opinions and not those of my husband, where my voice counts just as much as anybody else's.

I consider myself very lucky and implore the rest of the U.S. citizens reading this to go and vote when the time comes.

Comments

[Michael]

Remember: Vote early and often!

[n]

not only did i vote for a president yesterday, but i voted for an american idol as well. i now consider myself to be a true american.

[One]

N, you're more American than I!

Michael: I love that quote, was that Boston's former mayor who quipped that? Or was it Chicago's?

[TomatoMan]

"Vote Often, Vote Early, Vote for James Michael Curly!"

That's old Boston lore.

Mayor Daley is reputed to have said, when JFK called to ask him how many votes he could count on in Illinois, "How many do you need?"