Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Vote

Because if the polls are still open, you still have a chance to be heard. Vote.
I have spent years of my life sitting on a couch, leaning to the left or right, willing a stranger's field goal attempt to miss that thirty foot opening he was trying to kick it through. I have worn a path on the hardwood floor as I have paced hundreds of miles back and forth from the front door of my house to my kitchen and back again as I awaited what was an inevitable result. One way or another. I have fooled myself into believing that I alone could change the outcome of an athletic contest being played hundreds of miles away. That kind of power, real or imagined, if there were enough concern rays directed at televisions across the country matter could be altered, space and time could be manipulated and order could be maintained. This doesn't always take into account an equal number of concern rays forcing balls or baskets or bats to go another way, but  that is the case in my warped version of reality.
Because if the polls are still open, you still have a chance to alter reality. Vote.
I was once a member of Amnesty International. I wrote letters and signed petitions and sent postcards to raise awareness of human rights. I was part of an organization that was committed to shining a light on social and political injustice. At that time, I was not registered to vote. A very good friend of mine pointed out how ridiculous this was. I was invested in making sure that citizens of other countries had the opportunity to impact their governments the way I could if I would just go fill out a form and get my opinionated backside out to the polls. There were people in other countries who were being jailed, tortured, and killed to do the very thing that I was too young and clever to do myself.
Because if the polls are still open, you can do something that people in other countries have fought and died for. Vote.
My wife went to sleep full of hope and confidence in the world that would belong to the inventor of the Internet and global warming, Al Gore. That future never came to pass and she woke up she wanted her vote for Ralph Nader back as we spent the next eight years living in the hands of the Karl Rove Empire. The future is ours to shape, field goals notwithstanding.
Because if the polls are still open and you are reading this, there is a chance to make a difference. Vote.

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