Drunken Owls and Other Delights

[Note: Yes, this picture was for 1988. Election day for 2012 is on November 6th...but I figured you already knew that. :) ]

emmalyon and I headed down to City Hall today for early voting. We figured it would be easier to do on the weekend rather than on this coming Tuesday, after we get off work. It was a relatively nice day today and we got some book shopping and a lot of walking in afterwards, so it was a good day for it.

I remember when a version of the above advertisement for REM's Green popped up in late 1988, seeing it in the music magazines...the album's release day happened to land on that year's election day happened to coincide. It totally made sense, given the band's political interests. I was 17 that year, so I unfortunately couldn't vote until next year, but it at least gave me the impetus to at least pay attention to politics somewhat. Before then I was strictly hands-off, mainly because I knew I'd get emotional about it.

That year we had Dukakis against Bush I, and being from Massachusetts, I of course had to root for the home team, even though he was soundly beaten. I wasn't too happy about it, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad. Bush I might have been a bit of a doofus, but he at least knew what he was doing, or at least that's how I saw it at the time. When he moved into Iraq to fight Gulf War I, I was bothered by the choice (I was of draft age, even though chances were good it wouldn't be implemented), but I trusted him at the time. [As a side note, that was when I'd come to the conclusion that if the draft had ever kicked in, I'd be a conscientious objector, as I absolutely refuse to take another person's life.]

From 1989 onwards, if I there was a local and/or federal election, I'd join in. I can't say I feel pride, or that I feel I'm doing something patriotic, as I've never quite understood what that really means...on the other hand, I always feel a sense of community. Whenever I vote, I'm a part of the town, city and/or state I live in, and I'm taking part in its decisions. I like having the ability to do so, and the idea of using a ballot to tell those in charge what the public wants or needs.

Of course, voting (along with pretty much everything else in the world) isn't an exact science. Sometimes we vote for things that sounded good at the time but end up being more trouble than it's worth. Sometimes a proposition that pleases only a select few ends up winning. Sometimes there is fraud, either in voting or in the process itself. We do what we can to be vigilant and make it right.

Still, I enjoy that sense of community. It's one of my ways go give back to the city I live in, help guide it in the right direction. Some might find it a hassle--there was a guy in line a few people behind me who had complained on his cell to his buddy that he wasn't sure how long it was going to take and that he really wanted to be at their house by that time--but to be honest, it's worth the hassle. It's worth taking time out of your personal life to be part of a larger group of people, even if it's for an hour. Despite your impatience or desire to be elsewhere, it's worth the vote, because it's up to you to decide who governs your city, your country, or just your neighborhood or district.