E-Day

I was going to write a completely different post. Instead, I’m going to keep it simple.

Think Ernest Hemingway. (Short sentences. Limited vocabulary. While the man was a great reporter and a good writer, I still think he is one of the most overrated in history. But I digress.)

After all, this country was founded on some pretty simple principles. Life. Liberty. The Pursuit of Happiness. Most of these have remained in tact through the centuries.

We can still freely speak our minds. And, unless you’re certain politicians (or would-be politicians) who don’t really get the Constitution and its respective amendments (isn't THAT scary?!), we still have a variety of rights.

I’m grateful for that.

But it’s Election Day. And it’s important to think about a few things.

I’m a little concerned by groups using the phrase “take our country back.” I’ve heard several pundits refer to this and query “Take it back – from what?”

But in my mind, it’s a different and even scarier question altogether: “Take it back – to where?” And if you listen carefully to their thinly-veiled platforms, it’s pretty easy to get an answer. Back to a time when slavery was the law of the land and women weren’t too far from that state.

Back to a time of intolerance and in-fighting. Back to a time where the haves and have-nots were more than clearly divided. Back to a time when there was NO middle class. None. You either had money. Or you didn’t. And God help you if you didn’t. That's not a direction we should continue to swirl toward.

Back to a time when you could pull yourself up by your bootstraps – if you were lucky enough to have boots. Back … I don’t want to see the country go back. Can’t we instead go forward? Let’s go forward, always remembering where we’ve been.

Yeah, the choices seem pretty clear to me. But that’s my view. This is my blog and that's my stand. I'll respectfully agree to disagree with you or gladly count you among the like-minded.

However you choose to vote is up to you. I’ll respect that and expect you to do the same. Being able to cast that ballot is a right, not a privilege. At least in our country. (And don’t forget, it’s a right that women haven’t yet had for a century.) Getting you that right cost a lot of lives and a whole lot of sacrifice. Don’t let it all go to waste.

There’s an awful lot at stake, all around this great country. And your vote could be the one that splits a decision. Before you cast your vote though, disgusted though you may be, I ask you to remember something that too many voters seem to have forgotten already: 2000-2008. It's as if they are a fairy story that never occurred. At least for some of us.

But I remember them. I remember them well. I know we didn't get into the current mess overnight. And it's important to acknowledge that we aren't getting out of it overnight either. It's important to recall who keeps saying "no" ... and, more importantly, why.

So go out and speak your mind in the ballot box.

I am.