The Last Day of our Lives

I waited in line for 3 hours to vote on Election Day this year. I went down an hour before I normally leave for work (my apartment building was my polling place). I read almost the entire time and nearly finished my book. I started it while I was in line. It’s The Walk by Robert Evans. I got it from The Book Thing in Baltimore when I was there visiting Laura. I really enjoyed the book. The characters are so down–to-earth. I haven’t enjoyed a book that much in a long while. It was my second one since I’ve lived out here that I finished cover to cover (Hunger Games was the first) and that has become a rarity since I was in middle school. It’s amazing how enjoyable reading can be when it’s not assigned homework.

Anyway, this is not about reading, it’s about the election. I voted for Romney for president. It seems like everyone in NoVa is a Democrat. Everyone at work the day after the election was rejoicing that we get to keep Obama as president. 

I think everyone is taking elections way too seriously. The world won’t end whether Obama lost or Romney lost, but a lot of people acted like it. It’s not a big deal to me because they’re both good men who are capable of leading. It all boils down to we all want the same thing, Republicans and Democrats. The difference is in how we get it, the processes. I suppose some of our definitions vary, but neither side will cause the ultimate corruption and end of our world. The media and the people will take care of that on there own. 

I don’t think there’s that much ONE man can do in a THREE-branch government in which he’s only given 4-8 years to influence. I am concerned about the direction that Obama can aim our country, laying foundation for future policy. I’m worried about this. I feel he'll give our people what we want, but are we really sure about what we want, what's good for us? Our country is increasingly focused on social issues. These issues are being reflected from historical perspective (i.e. civil rights movements and women’s suffrage). A majority of people seem to be excited about gay marriage and abortion movement and the media plays it up that way, but it’s not a movement. These issues are not about rights, they are about morals. I suppose the people back in the early 20th Century thought voting rights were a moral issues too, whether or not these people should count (women and African Americans). It will be interesting to see where our values as a country take us in the coming years.