17 October 2008

I voted!



Today I am very psyched that I completed my absentee ballot as a military member. It is on its way to the Town Clerk. It is odd to consider the true effect of my individual because of our electoral college. In my home state of record, newspapers are predicting the result with a high degree of confidence. So does my vote really matter? It certainly does to me. All I have to do is think of the injured Iraqis I saw on Election Day, proudly displaying their purple fingers as proof that they had voted. When people in the world have the bravery to risk suicide bombers to vote, how dare we not exercise our right to vote? So even if my state's decision was unanimous, my individual vote counts greatly.



I feel like it is so important that we come together to face the challenging problems that have been troubling our nation. The candidate I chose has energized me about my country in a way I haven't felt in a long time. I wasn't alive when JFK was president, but I wonder if that is how people felt back then. It reminds me of the how I felt during the Reagan years when I was inspired me to give something back through military service.



So, I am very proud to have done my civic duty and have exercised my precious privilege to vote for our leaders. Your turn is coming up soon!



Have fun and be mello,



Chris

3 comments:

Jen said...

Voting is never wasted- no matter who you vote for or why, it really is the most precious thing that we have in free societies.

We've just had our Canadian federal elections and while I may or may not be pleased with the results, I'm mostly embarrassed that only something like 55% of the population decided to get off of their butts and vote. There were reasons (I think that there's been 3 Federal elections in the last five years or so, but still!)

Silly question (I'm not American)...as a member of the military, do you always have to cast an absentee ballot, or do you vote in whatever district you happen to be posted to at the moment? Up here, I believe that members of our military are able to choose their "ordinary residence", which is usually the riding that they come from and where their vote will be counted. I'm just curious as to whether there's a difference or not.

And congratulations for voting...I hope that it turns out the way that you want it to (as long as you voted the same way that my husband did *S*)

The Morrigan said...

I voted too!! It was really exciting to be voting in North Carolina, especially since it appears like we may actually be a swing state for the first time in decades (the last time our electoral votes went to a Democrat instead of a Republican was, I believe, 1976). Here's to exercising our right to vote!!

Chris said...

Jen and The Morrigan,

thanks for stopping by!

Good for you for voting too. Let's home NC makes history! To answer you question, no I don't have to vote absentee, I just happen to be stationed in a different state than where I am registered this year.

Take care!

C