America at its Best!

Today is Election Day and I am so excited!

For me, Election Day is what makes America great and I am proud to have been born an American.  I know, pretty patriotic for such a snarky pessimist like myself.  

For the past 28 years, I have been a ritualistic voter.  My love affair with politics started when I was quite young.  When I was 10 years old, my elementary school had a school election for the Presidency in 1976 - Gerald Ford vs. Jimmy Carter - and I have been hooked ever since.  My first official vote as an adult occurred on November 6, 1984.  A young and still idealistic 18-year old Sandi stepped into a voting booth in Hamilton Square, New Jersey, in order to vote in her first Presidential election.  The choice was either Ronald Reagan or Walter Mondale and I felt fantastic when I pulled that lever for the candidate of my choice.  It was inspiring.  Of course, I got my first Election Day disappointment just a few hours later, when my candidate lost...  Um, perhaps "annihilated" would be a better word.  It was the first of many crushing blows in the political arena. I didn't experience the joy of picking a Presidential winner until 1996.  I suppose you can now guess my political affiliation.  

Even though I never live any place where my vote makes a difference, I still feel it's my duty as an American to step into that voting booth and vote my conscience.  Today, I walked into my new polling place here in Newburyport and got my ballot, filled the bubble for my candidates, voted on the issues, and walked out 10 minutes later.  It was fantastic! I hope that I never get tired of it.  Now I sit and wait for the results.  I suspect it will be a long night, but I have my hopes high and know that I did my civic duty today!  I hope everyone went out and voted!  Otherwise, you have no right to complain about the results!