Casting your vote

November 6, 2012

It’s true: sometimes, at this age, it seems like I’m casting my vote to the wind.

People vote for some of the strangest reasons,

including out of fear, based on lies, hatred, revenge–truly, I don’t get it.

Well, that’s not exactly right.

I get it.

I just don’t like it.

Yet, every election day I think back to when I cast my very first vote.

How excited I was.

How privileged I felt to cast my ballot.

To be an adult and have a small say in what happens in our country.

Yes, I’m older now and, like many of my generation, disillusioned with the system.

Disappointed that the world we wanted to make for ourselves when we were younger didn’t take.

And that all things we hated about our world back then–hatred, fear, bigotry,

discrimination–it’s all still with us.

And will be with us until the end.

Today, I vote on paper.

The ballot comes in the mail and, armed with information I’ve collected about the propositions

and the candidates, I cast my vote, knowing that it is an imperfect government.

An imperfect system.

That people are flawed and imperfect.

And so am I.

Despite that, though, it’s still there, that little frisson of voting excitement.

Today is voting day.

Don’t let disillusionment keep you from the polls.

You may be casting your vote to the wind.

But maybe not.

It’s like the lottery ad says:

You can’t win if you don’t play.