Exercise (or Exorcise) Your Rights

Taking a short break from NaNo to speak about something near and dear to my heart, I come to the point of tomorrow. For those of my friends who are in the US, tomorrow is election day. Now, there are many things that we can look forward to because of this day. One thing is the vitriolic and misleading commercials will finally cease. At this point I am just about ready to scream if I hear another one. Another thing that will happen is too many people who care only about toeing the party line will once again be sent to Congress, resulting in a Congress that is deadlocked and completely ineffective. And the third thing that will happen is that a President will be elected.

Now, do I care who gets into the White House? At this point, not really. It's not because I think Obama is so great or Romney so evil, or vice versa. It's because with a Congress that won't vote on anything that has meaning, whoever sits in the Presidential office is largely an ineffective figurehead. That frustrates me, angers me, and generally makes me sick. We elect our officials to look after our interests and to represent our ideas. That hasn't been happening for quite a while. The system is broken and it's only getting worse and worse.

That notwithstanding, it is imperative that everyone who can goes out and votes. Should you vote for President or Congressional people? I can't tell you one way or the other. But it is extremely important that you vote for your local officials, representatives, and amendments. It is the local governance that directly impacts your personal life.

Here in Minnesota there are two amendments that are generating a lot of interest and talk. The first one is an amendment to require voter ID. If you're living in our state, please vote NO on this issue. The way that this bill has been written is extremely poor and leaders from both parties have come out against this bill. The other important vote is allowing marriage for couples of opposite as well as same sex. The way that this amendment is phrased, please vote NO to allow marriage to be unregulated and couples to marry no matter their sexual orientation. This will allow marriage, but it will also give legal rights to the life partners of gay and lesbians, allowing them to have a say in the medical and legal decisions that may need to be determined in cases of accident or illness. Please, if you are in Minnesota, vote NO for both of these issues.

Don't even think that your vote doesn't count. The very fact that you can go to a polling area, walk up and fill out a ballot, and walk out again without being escorted by armed guards, without having to take your life into your hands, is one of the great blessings of our nation. Is our system perfect? Can everyone who wants to vote actually manage to? No. But it is a darned good system and deserves your support and action even if the individual candidates leave you cold. VOTE!