I Voted

I voted today. I went into the little booth, closed the curtain, made my selections, and pulled the giant lever. It was a very cool experience, and I was in and out in 45 minutes. Did you take the time to vote today?

Throughout this election I have vowed to keep this blog non-political. There are tons of politically oriented blogs out there for you to read if you are so inclined, and I have never had any intention of becoming one of them. However, this is a rather historic election, so I have decided to comment on my impressions.

This is the third election that I have been old enough to vote in, and it is the second that I have actually voted in. However it is the first that I have actually become invested in. For the first time, I took the time to seek out information about the candidates, research their platforms, do some soul-searching for my own stances on the issues, and determine whose vision of America is closest to my own. For the first time I paid attention to the primaries (and voted in them). For the first time I watched and evaluated the debates. I paid attention to the advertisements. I read the media articles and watched the pundit discussions. I read political blogs and message boards put forth by both parties. As a result, for the first time, I was able to go to the polls today knowing that I voted for the candidate whose views were most in line with my own. For the first time, I figured out where I stood on the issues and voted accordingly, and that feels good.

There have been times through this election that I have wished I could go back to the me of 2000 or 2004, the me who didn't really care all that much, the me who wasn't concerned enough to form her own opinion. I became interested in this election early on because it showed such potential for something new and different, something other than politics as usual. This was going to be an election for the history books, and it still is - depending on who wins, we will either have our first African-American president, or our first female vice president. However the hope of shaking up the political status quo seems to have fallen by the wayside. Not only have I felt that this election was politics as usual, but often went a step further and brought out not the best in Americans, but rather the worst, as racism, sexism and ageism were prevalent. I felt that all too often the discourse focused on scaring us out of voting for the other guy, rather than the candidate explaining why they are the best for the job, and why their ideas are the best for our country. It seems to me the only thing that changed with this election was the demographics of the people debating, not the tactics. And now, I feel that our country is so divided.

I will be glad when the election is over. By tonight, we will know whether our next President will be Barack Obama or John McCain. Regardless of who wins the prize, I pray that he will be able to stand as a solid leader for our country in the next four years. I pray that our citizens will be able to put aside our differences, mend our battle wounds and come together for the sake of an even better America. God bless the USA, and may He be with our next President.