Published by PaintingChef on 06 Nov 2012 at 02:42 pm
Why I Vote.
All over the internet today, people are telling you why they voted for their guy. I voted for my guy, you know who he is and I imagine you know why I voted for him. I’m blue almost to the bone although I refrained from voting for Mark Clayton because I would rather stab my eyeballs with flaming bamboo shards. (Really, Tennessee Democrats? Mark Clayton? FAIL.)
But what I want to talk to you about today is NOT who I voted for or why. It is why I VOTE, period.
First of all… I like to bitch. And if you don’t vote, you don’t get to bitch. That’s just a given. I read an article earlier today about 10 famous people who don’t vote and it astounded me. INFURIATED me. Jim Lehrer. Keith Olberman. Nate Silver. Jake Tapper. I understand that these people think they should remain objective (Keith Olberman… snort… I love the guy but only because he’s on my team but objective? I think not…) but to forgo the privilege of voting in order to do so? No. I don’t buy it. Three and four star generals not voting? That blows my mind. You defend this country. You’ve built your life around that. FUCKING PARTICIPATE IN IT. You don’t have to tell a soul who you voted for. But to not vote at all… you’ve completely lost my respect.
(I don’t even know for certain who my husband voted for. I know he voted in the Republican Primary and I just made him promise me that he wouldn’t vote for Rick Santorum. But he voted. And that’s sexy.)
But most notably not on that list? Women. Reason two that I vote. I’m a woman and I can vote. That wasn’t always the way it was. Case in point? This picture making the rounds today…
The women who paved the way for me are my heroes. They were strong, vocal and determined. And to not vote is a slap in the face to all that they worked for. I use my vote to honor their struggles and their success. I use my vote to avenge the votes that they were denied.
And third… I vote for my grandfather. Papa Bill was passionate about politics. It energized him like nothing I’ve ever seen. Regardless of the election, local, state, national, didn’t matter. He was volunteering at the precinct across the street from his house. He traveled with the Clinton/Gore and the Gore/Leiberman campaigns. And even when he was very sick at the end of his life, he voted. He never missed an election and one of the things that he passed along to me was what a privilege and a gift it is to be able to vote. To make your opinion known. But it is also a responsibility. It is a call to educate yourself. To form your own opinions and to never be complacent. I’m sure he was thrilled that my political leanings mirrored his own but I’m confident that as long as I used a combination of my head and my heart to find my own way, he would have been proud of me regardless.
So I vote. I vote because it is my right, my privilege, my responsibility. It is my voice and it is the gift that the women who came before me bestowed upon me. I vote because to NOT vote is not an option.
Why do YOU vote?
Ruta on 07 Nov 2012 at 11:58 am #
Amen sister! Not-voting makes me furious! Talk about white, male privilege!
For me, the best part of this election was taking my 6 year old daughter with me to vote. She got to help me check over my ballot, and we had a conversation on the way back to the car about the fact that less than 100 yrs ago women weren’t allowed to vote and, therefore, it was essential that we exercise that right. It totally blew her mind. I overheard her telling other 1st grade girls about the experience & why it was so important that they vote when they grow up… One of the proudest moments of my life!
Steve O on 07 Nov 2012 at 3:44 pm #
Wonderful explanation and I love the Women’s Suffrage pamphlet. Kelley and I had same conversation with our daughter last night. I need to show her this pamphlet.
To give it another twist, I was born in Russia when it was still the USSR, you know communists, no right to vote, no say in anything. My parents and their families weren’t allowed to have a say and had to take whatever the gov gave or took away from them.
It’s a privilege to vote, a right and an honor to have a say in how our country is shaped. It does feel like I’m in a losing battle here in SC, but we still try counterbalance the nutters that live here.
Nikki on 14 Nov 2012 at 11:38 am #
As you know, I work for the library, and one of the requirements of my job is to be a voter registrar. If you ever lose faith in the process of electing a politician, get sick of the mud-slinging, the hateful ads, and the irritating debates, or if you’ve tired of listening to the pundits, I suggest becoming a voter registrar. There is very little more inspiring than a young person or a new citizen registering to vote for the first time. I’ve actually had people burst into tears while I administer the oath, which invariably causes me to burst into tears, and it’s a beautiful thing.
Being new to adulthood or being a new citizen comes with loads of hope that I think the rest of us let go of everyday. But looking in the eye of someone who has just turned 18, who looks like they’ve just emerged from a cocoon and found themselves a butterfly in the big, wide world, is really special. And truly, nothing compares with someone who has fought and fought to gain citizenship, and finally they are here, and they have rights they may not have had in the country where they are from, where their opinion didn’t count, where they couldn’t support themselves no matter how hard they worked, and now they have all these opportunities and more. It’s a blessing and a privilege to be doing this work, and each time I get sick of the politicians, I remember it’s not about them — it’s about the fact that I count, that my opinion matters. And I use it.