by Jonathan Hilton
Voting Was A Great Experience
There are many people today on November 7, who are disappointed with the outcome of the election, because in our country we all have the option to believe whatever we want. There are people who feel disillusioned and have hurt feelings, and conversely there are many who are feeling like there is a brand new day ahead of them and there is a lot of hope for tomorrow based on these election results. I do not belong to either group and I will tell you why.
The first thing that I am thankful for is that I have the right to vote, what I think is right regardless of what anyone else may think, I am able to make my own considerations about issues and make the choice for myself how I want to vote. There is no negative ad on television that can tell me I am wrong. Neither can the obviously conservative individuals or blatantly liberal continuously posting on Facebook, the decision is all mine to do what I think is right, and that is a feeling of individual power and pride in my country that can’t be equaled anywhere else in the world.
After a long month of nothing but the worst common element of fear being broadcast by both of our major political parties, it is quite frustrating to listen to both sides beat up the other about every conceivable issue. I am feeling surprisingly good today, because the negativity could possibly end. Then if both sides actually worked together to solve all of the issues the country is facing, and look at the real way that things are done in Washington, then maybe the next election won’t be so polarizing. I can always hope. For me though, nothing can ruin the enjoyment I got from exercising my constitutional right, voting the way my conscience dictated. There is no mention of political candidates or parties, because the choice of who I voted for is my business and nobody else’s.
The one issue that I was happy to see passed in the great State of Maine is Question #1 and now same sex marriage is now legal, and there is just a little less discrimination in the world. This was a question of human rights and discrimination. Nobody is going to be compelled to enter into same sex relationships, nobody’s religious beliefs are going to be questioned, churches are not going to be required to change their doctrine, in fact the world will move around the sun much as it has throughout history, there just won’t be discrimination against same sex couples in the State of Maine. More freedom can only be a good thing.
On this Wednesday, November 7, 2012 the sun has risen and it will more than likely set, even though the election didn’t go the way some wanted and did go the way some others have delighted in. Every person in the country has the right to love their families, enjoy their work, look forward to the future, and to be happy regardless of who is going to be president for the next four years. Everyone had a chance to participate, talk about and argue over the issues in public, and there were no arrests for thinking differently. It is a great country still, we have survived world wars, depressions, civil wars and foreign attacks and still we are here. There have been both extreme liberals and conservatives in the White House and still our country is a great place to live, and I will still feel the same way four years from now.
Voting with a black face in a white place
First Time Voting: The Experience
an open letter and a plea to listen before you vote.