The deed is done. The vote is cast. It was more stressful than I would have liked—no, not long lines, but they couldn’t find my name! In the book! I almost reached over and punched the guy in charge of signing people in but I tried to remain calm. Maybe it’s naive of me, but the thought of sitting on the couch tonight and watching the returns and knowing my vote wasn’t in the mix, well it just wouldn’t have meant as much. But my name was there, they just didn’t see it.
I don’t know if it’s because I feel like I’m more of a grown-up than I’ve ever been (two kids, mortgage, life insurance policy) or if it’s the state of our country, not to mention the world, or if it’s because I actually think my guy might have a chance in hell of winning, but. I have never been so engrossed in an election. It’s like the Oscars, the Super Bowl, the World Series, heck let’s thrown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade too. I feel like we should all have the day off, that we should be allowed to just stay home and watch CNN and eat junk food all day. Instead, I’m listening to the news on my work computer. Not like there will be results but hey.
It’s easy to be cynical these days, in the light of the electoral college and vote count snafus, that your vote doesn’t count. Maybe it’s idealistic of me to think that my vote (and yours) matters, but I would still like to think it does. I have such vivid memories of walking with my mom down to Sunnyside Elementary School where she cast her vote for many an election. I love the idea of taking kids to vote, introducing them to the idea of democracy at a young age. My parents instilled in me that voting is a responsibility, you just do it. You don’t miss an election. I thought briefly of bringing the kids with me today but then I thought better. They’re too little this time around, but next time, for sure. That makes me wonder—will Leo vote? Who gets to decide if someone like Leo can or can't vote? Anyway…
I stayed up too late last night watching the “Saturday Night Live” election eve special. So freaking funny. Let’s hope I’m still laughing tomorrow.
3 comments:
When we went through the guardianship with my sister, she retained a bunch of rights, (including the right to vote) even though my mother is her guardian. If we'd never been through the guardianship she would have retained ALL the rights of anyone else of age in this country - so essentially, as far as I understand it, unless someone can prove in a court of law that Leo shouldn't be allowed to vote, he will have the right to.
Check this out: Can People with Down syndrome vote?"
I'm sitting here tonight completely depressed because there's no debate, no convention, and no election to watch. What am I going to do with all of this free time? Oh yeah. Blog.
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