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2008
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November
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- Warning Signs of the Pending Great Compression
- No Accountability, No Outrage, No Problem
- Little Green Eggs and Ham
- Why Washington Cannot Prevent Depression
- Days of Ripple and Crabgrass
- Stickin' It to The Man
- "We Admit It. We Have No Idea What's Going On"
- The Battle of Wits Has Begun
- Petit Fours and Metit Fours
- Fair, Balanced, and Wrong
- Beyond the Fat Cats
- Plunder, American-Style
- Art Imitating Life
- Same Credit, Different Day
- Numbers for Fun and Profit
- Maybe Just a Teensy-Weensy Depression…
- If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes
- VOTE -- It Pisses Off the New World Order-Types
- W-43: Bringing Common Sense to the Clean Air Act
- David King versus Goliath Lehman
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November
(20)
1 comment:
Today was a great day to be an American.
OK - I confess; I think every day is a great day to be an American, but today was one of those days that made the sensation that much stronger.
This morning, I got up at the usual time (ridiculously early) and arrived at my polling station -- which also happens to be my parish church -- about 30 minutes before the polls opened. Already, people had arrived; I was 16th in line. By 6:00 am when the polls opened, I bet there were 100 people waiting to vote. That may not sound like many, but you must understand, I live in the rural Virginia countryside.
After being checked in by the precinct authorities, I stood in line to vote electronically. The line moved painfully slowly. Clearly, there were a number of people -- most in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, and giddy as teenagers in their excitement -- who were voting for the first time ever in their lives. They had arrived to show their support for one candidate in particular, and they did not care to be rushed.
I was standing behind an elderly black gentleman who was clutching a Democrat Party sample ballot. He was determined not to make any mistakes when he got to the booth. I could not help but whisper to him while we waited "You have been waiting a long time for this day, haven't you?" He shook his head; he most certainly had. One only can speculate how many times he had given up hoping such a day ever would arrive.
When the gentleman got to the electronic booth, he had a great deal of trouble voting. He was determined to cast his ballot correctly, and was not going to permit himself to be rushed into making a mistake. It struck me at the moment that the man might be functionally illiterate, thus adding to his difficulties in casting his ballot. Finally, however, his decision made, he had done his civic duty.
Some in the line behind me grumbled their displeasure over those who seemed to take too long to vote. I did not. Watching that gentleman work his way through the list of candidates gave me a certain melancholy delight. I was melancholy because, as I wrote earlier, this probably was the first vote he had cast in his life. Worse, for many years of his adulthood, he probably was prevented from voting. But delighted also that he finally, if belatedly, got to enjoy this basic right of citizenship.
I now am awaiting the returns on all the elections. Frankly, I have favorites, but am not concerned much about how things will turn out. The strength of the U. S. system of government is in its federalist structure. Should those in Washington, DC fail us, we still have our local governments to sustain us as a nation.
Paladinte
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