Oh, is there an election today? I guess I wouldn’t have known except that we got no fewer than THREE phone calls yesterday from campaign volunteers eager to remind us. I won’t tally up all the calls in the last week—a high number indeed. In the “be careful what you wish for” category, I have always wanted to live in a “battleground state” that candidates actually care about, and now that I do, UNCLE already!
Yes, I’m voting; yes, I know my polling place; no, I don’t need help getting there…so please stop calling me.
I hope volunteers will be equally enthusiastic about helping their candidates clear away the unattractive clutter of campaign signs along the roads after the election.
On the less cranky side, I am always mindful that people in this country and throughout the world have died in the struggle to get the right to vote, and voting is a responsibility to take seriously. After even the most minor election, I’m one of those dorks who wears my “I voted” sticker around all day.
UPDATE: If you love the "I voted" stickers as I do, be sure to check out Hank Stuever's Washington Post article extolling their virtues and the important bonding experience of voting on Election Day: "[The sticker] says you stood in a school cafeteria or a branch library or a community center gymnasium this morning or this afternoon, or you'll stand there tonight after work, and it says that you stood there because you thought of yourself as no less noble (and no more important) than anyone else. These days, that's huge. You voiced your opinion while also remaining part of a "we." You took your turn. It's the opposite of "The Amazing Race." It's the amazing wait."