As I stood in the chilly fall air this early morning, waiting my turn to go in and fill out my ballot and cast my vote, it struck me what a truly remarkable country we have. What a mix of people and backgrounds were with me at my polling station. Everyone in line was there to cast their vote and make thier voice heard–however tiny it may seem against the screams of a media determined to tell us what we’re supposed to do.
It’s likely that my choice for President won’t be the one taking the Oath of Office come January, but I have the satisfaction of knowing I did my part–and that is no small comfort. I’ve always said if you don’t vote, you’re not entitled to bitch about your government. Do your part and earn that right to complain! Of course, seeing some of the folks that were lined up to cast a ballot….yeesh. The lady in front of me who apparently didn’t realize what letter her last name started with and stood for a half hour in the wrong line would be a fine example. Seriously, I wonder what some people are thinking. Maybe they just wanted their free Starbucks.
One conclusion that I drew from today’s ballot was that the Constitution of the State of Alabama needs a serious overhaul. I voted on several constitutional amendments that dealt with matters far from my own county, that will not impact me in the slightest. Our state constitution is a perfect example of an over-reaching state government that won’t leave the smaller city and county governments alone. It’s the same argument that those opposed to big federal government make–only written on a smaller scale. It’s time to make some practical changes, in my opinion.
At any rate, as the pundits yammer and the media salivates over this juicy news day, I”ll go to bed happy knowing that I did what I could, and I did it with respect and care and thoughtfulness. For all the bad that we seem to see about the United States these days, seeing our democracy in action is just one example of one of the many things that are good about her.
God Bless America. Now go vote.
