Tuesday, October 19, 2010

I can complain all I want

I voted. Since I'll be at a conference in England on election day, I cast an absentee ballot. Marked it. Mailed it. So I've earned my right to complain, thank you very much. And sometimes that's about the only reason I find to vote. I really would hate to give up my Constitutional right to complain. That is in the Constitution, right?

Truth is, I lost my political efficacy around 1998 and have yet to rediscover it.  I feel totally powerless, politics-wise. Yes, I can vote, but whichever way I go from election to election, other Powers That Be have more impact than I - multi-gazillionaires, big insurance, big banks, media-yammerers. It doesn't matter which political party is in power, there seems to be too many outside forces pulling the (real) strings. My one little measly vote simply can't compete.

Politics has always been a mean game. If you know your history, you know that to be a fact. Shameless behavior is nothing new. But it does suck the life out of good citizens over the long haul. There is a great temptation to throw up our collective hands and say "To hell with all of it." Yet, I have no idea how to fix the meanness, other than requiring everyone - candidates, citizen groups, lobbyists, etc., - to act honorably. Can we not at least find our way to "honorable"? Sigh.

But, I voted. I've done all I can do in this political cycle. It's not much. But I have the feeling that the only thing I've won is the right to complain.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I too voted yesterday. I actually went to the court house about 2PM and there was only one person ahead of me casting their ballot. Here, we fill out a form, they check our picture I.D. (I fully support this process, BTW) and we are given a little yellow plastic card. This card we insert into the voting machine. We proceed by using the touch screen. From there our vote goes into never,never land. I would feel much better if we could mark our vote on a paper ballot and deposit it in a ballot box. At least there would be tangible proof we had left our mark. That being said... I voted. For the most part... Held my nose and voted.
Bro.

Anonymous said...

Well, to complete the Frazier family political science experience, I TOO have already voted. I spent most of Sunday afternoon with my ballot and the computer to research all the options. What really gets me is the confusing propositions. You can read one that sounds perfectly logical, then read all the underhanded stuff that can happen if the new proposition becomes law. I say we go back to the Ten Commandments. Period. Lil Sis

MaryB said...

Well, at least the Fraziers have done their civic duty, whether for good or for ill (though more likely, for not much o' anything). I'm with you, Sis, about liking to take my time to investigate propositions and candidates for obscure offices with an absentee ballot. And I, too, held my nose and voted, Bro. Sigh.