Tuesday, February 9, 2016

How I Have Changed

I voted tonight and I am excited about that.

Prior to 2008 I had not voted in quite a long time. I cannot remember what my voter participation was like when I was younger but I have to believe it was spotty at best.

I think I voted but I don't really know. Most memories are foggy in my brain; time and life has dulled my senses to the point where if you bashed me in the head I probably wouldn't feel it.

Then again, if you bashed me in the head maybe it would resurrect long lost memories and reconnect me with my own life.

Who the hell knows.

I am pretty sure I voted when I was younger, and I think I cast some ballots that would embarrass me if I admitted to them.

For sure there was a long dark period of not voting.

You have to realize I was a child of the sixties. I was jolted wide awake to the fact that this country is run by greedy sons of bitches who lie to get my vote and then laugh at me once they ascend to office.

I lived through Richard Milhous Nixon for Christ sake.

I got back into voting in 2008 and it felt pretty goddamn good. I kept a notebook - I compared in detail the promises of Barack Obama and those of John McCain, point by point right on down the line.

Eventually I realized I had to vote for Barack Obama. It felt good. It felt right.

In 2012 I kept no notebook. There was no need. We are talking about Mitt Romney, for Christ sake.

Tonight, as I was driving out of work and past a town hall or two, I was excited to see groups of people holding signs for their candidate in the cold. I was excited to see people filing in to vote; it felt deep to see voters walking out of these buildings with the satisfaction of knowing they cast a ballot for what they believe in.

When I got to Henniker, when I parked The Big Ride, as I walked towards the small New England country-ish school where I was to cast my vote in the primary to decide who would represent my side in the election for President of these United States, I was genuinely excited and genuinely proud of myself for participating in this process and expressing my opinion on how I want my country to be run.

This is not small potatoes; it is the real deal, the whole enchilada, it is a really serious and meaningful thing to do, to cast a vote for a person you trust to run this country and hope to have a profound affect on your life.

I could never vote for a republican. The current crop of candidates are the scum of the earth.

I was indecisive between Hillary and Bernie.

I think Hillary is the most qualified experience-wise to run this country. Bernie connects with my heart; he says everything I want to hear, he gives me hope that us wee folk can recapture the essence of what this country is about.

I was still undecided up until today. As I talked about the pros and cons with co-workers today, I suddenly realized that I had to go with my heart.

I voted for Bernie Sanders.

I have no regrets or second thoughts about that.

I hope he wins. I hope he goes on to become the 45th President of The United States.

However if he doesn't make it I have no problem supporting Hillary Clinton.

The bottom line to all this is that I was excited to vote today. I will be excited to vote for the rest of my life.

Voting is a magical and a mystical thing. It carries weight, it is meaningful, it gives you a chance to speak your mind, to put your money where your mouth is, no matter how corrupt the process, no matter the cretin-like level of intelligence most candidates display.

I am content tonight. I gave it a shot.

Now I will sit back and see how it all unfolds.

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