Sagittarius
I love my right to vote and I am always eager to get down to my polling place at the local church on DeBruce Road. Eager to pull the lever for my new found candidate, Barack Obama, I arrived stunned to discover an empty church.
After a brief moment of panic, I decided to ride into Livingston Manor to the Town Hall where surely they would know where I should vote. Somewhat embarrassed at not being informed enough to know my own polling place, I meekly asked for the pertinent information.
The smiling clerk announced that, in order to save money, the Sullivan County polls wouldn’t be open until noon. Besides, I was told, there just weren’t that many votes up here anyway.
My face must have betrayed my astonishment at the information because the team in the cozy building heartily laughed at my perceived dilemma. I was urged to relax and just return to the polling place at noon. For them, it was no big deal. For me, all I could think of was the information I had received from all sides that the polls would be open and that I should be a good citizen and go vote.
But I couldn’t. And I wondered how many other voters, some of them first timers, had made the journey to their polling place only to find it closed. There was no question in my mind that few would take the time to drive further only to find out that – at least up here – they were disenfranchised until noon. We were marginalized, unlike the rest of New Yorkers who were busily voting.
I was reminded once again of how the world’s greatest democracy still hasn’t gotten down how to make it easy for its citizens to vote.
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Re: Observations Of A New American Holiday
By luyen, February 8, 2008 at 16:50I feel generally positive about the primaries in the U.S. - I think Obama brings some different ways of doing politics, and that's always a good thing, even if he doesn't become president, just like when Jesse Jackson or Kennedy was around, there was a willingness to look at new ideas, and positive change.
I also feel that with Hillary Clinton or Senator McCain, is a good time to hope in America - I think George Bush would have been a good good General, but not so much a president, considering he's surrounded poor advisors such as Cheney and Romney. Even though McCain touts himself as a conservative, when ultra-right wing "journalist" Anne Coulter calls him a liberal, you know that the Republicans aren't a lost cause yet for most Americans. Despite being a military-man, I think he brings experience and reasoning to the Republican party, and that's good for all America.
Mitt Romney's limited support also shows that while Americans has conservative values, it's not willing to put in power someone who might go too far with very sensitive issues, and I think that's very positive, because government should not enforce or dictate peoples' values systems, that's up to the persons, better or for worse.
I don't think Barrack Obama will win, but i've been impressed by his wide grass roots support, and his generally positive message not to bash anybody, and to unite a bi-partisan country, I hope that position will bring out the best in everybody, including the next president.
Re: Observations Of A New American Holiday
By Robyn Stubbs, February 8, 2008 at 14:26Hey, at least US citizens/media are show excitement about the upcoming election; it may be drawn out and overdone, but north of the border, national election days barely make a blip on the collective Canadian conscience.
Robyn Stubbs
Community building editor
Orato.com