This is a political post that isn’t. I just had to comment on the election. Not who won. That’s almost incidental. The fact that so many people came out to vote. Now, you have to understand I’m an child of the 60’s, when we were all involved. When the vote was the most important thing in the world, and we were happy to wait, because we could change the world(okay, that didn’t work so much, but we did manage a few things…oh, say the end to the war in Vietnam). Anyway, it’s not been since then that I’ve seen what I saw Tuesday. I stood in line for an hour and fifty minutes. In an area that’s chockful of old, cranky people(older and crankier than I). And not only did everybody stand without complaint outside for at least an hour and a half each, but everybody–EVERYBODY was talking about how excited they were to be voting. Old people, young kids, everybody. I felt like I was in a Frank Capra movie.
Now, I love what I do. But it ain’t brain surgery. I’ve seen brain surgery, and this isn’t it. And as much as I’d love to say this isn’t true, it isn’t nearly as important as what we did Tuesday. We reinvolved ourselves in the national debate. We reclaimed our right and responsibility to have a voice in our future. Hooray for us! And now, hopefully, we’ll remember that our responsibilities last beyond election Tuesday. Oh, and one more thing. I brought a book while I stood in line. And when somebody commented on what a good idea it was, I handed them one of mine. I’m not completely altruistic, after all.
eileenkathleen, the evil twins.
*snort* re: last line.
it was my first election i could vote in (i’ve been participating in them for a few years; i’m an activist). some really good stuff, some really bad, but it was so cool.