Exercise Your Right

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

In 1980, I was 12 years old.

I recall vividly that this was the first time that I was keenly aware of politics. Probably because Mrs. Danforth, my seventh grade teacher, was giving us a glimpse of the way our government works through our civics class, but also because it was the Presidential election between candidates Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

The day of the election every kid in school - from kindergarten to eighth grade - was given a slip with the names of the candidates on it. We filed past the office and dropped our ballot in the ballot box decorated with red, white and blue streamers and buntings.

I can recall that I selected the only name that I had really heard of in my house. And the feeling of triumph when it was announced at the end of the school day who had won the popular vote at Saint Stephen's Elementary School. I had picked the winning team!

Flash forward a few years to 1986. I was 18 and a freshman in college. I don't recall much in the way of political action on the campus that I was attending, and the biggest campaign in Wisconsin was for governor that year. I remember feeling very grown up that I could walk into the polling place on campus and be given the paper ballot to fill out. But I realized when I got in the booth that I had no knowledge of either candidate aside from the name that I had heard at home over the summer.

After I cast my ballot for governor and tried to muddle through the convoluted meaning of some referendums on the ballot that day, I remember walking back to my dorm rather confused.

Instead of feeling empowered and all grown up, I felt more unsure and childlike.

I had just voted for a candidate in my first election ever and I had not bothered to pay attention to who he really was, to find out if I agreed with him, to know what was even important to me, and not to just vote because it was a name I heard at the dinner table at home, or because they had the biggest and fanciest signs around town.

I had an epiphany.

I vowed right then and there that I would really investigate the candidates running for office, pay attention to character - not just what they said, but how they said it and more importantly, what they did - and decide in my own heart what was most important to me.

I have voted in every election since.

Every four years, I am sort of a pariah in my family. I am seen as the black sheep, the one that goes against the grain because my views are not the same as my parents. I am frequently the butt of condescending behing-the-back chuckling, almost to the point of feeling like they are ashamed of me, and it is painful to feel the arrogance and derision that comes around once every four years. Suffice it to say that the subject of politics is not one that comes up around our Thanksgiving table.  I would hope that my family would be happy that they raised me to be free thinking, someone who sees the act of voting as an important duty, questioning the candidates and their positions and voting with my heart. But that is not the case.

I will tell you that I don't believe in party line voting because I feel that it is lazy and dangerous and irresponsible - no matter which party you align yourself with - and for that reason I have always firmly stated that I am in independent, not affiliated with any party, taking a critical look at all candidates and perfectly willing to vote for candidates of any persuasion if I feel that they best represent my voice. And because of this, I am one of those undecideds until I step into that booth. All those glossy postcards and robo-calls and increasingly ridiculous TV and radio ads directed at swinging my vote.

{Seriously. We have an ad on the radio right now that is two women talking over coffee about deciding between two candidates for Senate. The topic centers around the candidate in question as a good husband and father, to which the other girl says, "And he's the cute one, right?" WTH...So now we are asked to vote for a candidate who is cute?!@?*!? If it wasn't so infuriating that women are portrayed as superficial and only caring for a person's looks, it would sound just like an SNL skit and be hilariously funny. But it is not. It is real.} 

When McCain chose his running mate in 2008, it was with great fanfare that they first appeared in our state, near where my sister lives. She was beside herself with giddiness that it was a woman and suggested that she thought I would be voting for that ticket simply BECAUSE of the fact that we shared the same chromosomes. Um. No. I love my sister dearly, but that sort of thinking scares me. That is as ridiculous as saying that you are voting for the "cute one." Or because you share the same race. Or that the candidate happens to be from your state.

My daughter came home yesterday and announced that they would be casting ballots today for the President at her school. She wondered aloud if her vote would be added to the national election ;-). I explained that no, her vote was not added to the national tally, but this was just a way to understand what is meant by exercising her right to vote and that everyone - every single person in the United States - has that right. There are people in other countries who don't have this right, there was a time when women here didn't have that right, so it is not something to be taken lightly. I asked her to read a bit about the candidates and decide with her heart whom she felt would be the best to govern our country. I also told her that her vote is her own and it doesn't change my feeling for her one bit if she doesn't cast a ballot for the same candidate that I do.

I want my children to grow up and take this right seriously, to find out what matters most to them, and to be informed about their decisions. I look forward to having discussions with them in the future, and I will never insult their intelligence by telling them who I expect they will vote for. I want them to know that I will not belittle their choice but will celebrate them taking part in the process.

And I especially want them to know that I will love them all the more for casting that ballot no matter whom which candidate gets their vote.

Please, go and vote today.

 Vote with your conscience and your heart. 

Just vote.