Why I Vote Round-Up
We are all over the web with this event - the links will be updated with quotes as the posts go live and I'll keep adding to it as more folks join in. This post will be active through Election Day. GO VOTE!!!!
Kelly Fineman at Writing & Ruminating: "It's not just because I grew up in a mixed marriage - one Democrat, one Republican, with some different viewpoints and many the same. But it was a marriage where it was clear that both parties had a stake in supporting the family (financially as well as otherwise), and one where it was a given that they were going to vote in primaries, national elections, school board elections, etc.
Katy K at A Library Mama: "I vote because even if democracy isn't perfect, it's the best thing we've hit on so far, and a democracy where people don't vote, isn't. I vote so that my kids can see me take an active role in our government and believe that one person can make a difference."
Brian Kerr-Jung at Critique De Mr. Chompchomp: "So, the truth is, I'm not an undecided voter. While it's still technically possible that my vote may change, there is very little I can think of that would cause it. But I don't want my candidate to know that. Why not? Because I want as much as I can possibly get from him. I want all the specifics, promises, clarifications and commitments I can possibly get. I want him to go all in."
Edi at Crazy QuiltEdi: "Like me, my mom and dad never, ever imagined they would see a black president in their lifetime. My dad passed away long before Pres. Barak Obama even came onto the political scene. Dad was a diehard Republican and I have no idea how he would have voted, but mom was a lifelong Democrat. She had moved to Indiana to live with my sister and during the campaign mom was glued to CNN! But, you know what? My mom couldn't vote for him."
Lynn Miller-Lachman at her author site: "Voting from abroad, we felt like we were still part of the country. It gave us a connection to home and reminded us that when we return at the end of the year, we will live with the consequences of ours and everyone else's decision."
Tanita Davis at fiction, instead of lies: "Voting is both privilege and gift, and obligation, for someone whose ancestors were slaves, and whose chattel status prevented them from being thought of even as human."
Lee Wind at I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read?: "Talk to your parents, your grandparents, your friends. Let them know the issues that matter for you, and share with them your hopes (and even your fears) for the future."
Greg Pincus at Gotta Book: "As I watch the devastation of hurricane Sandy, I'm reminded again how we all pull together... how we are, despite vast spaces between us, all part of something bigger than just our own smaller communities. To me, a Presidential election is about that, too."
Little Willow at Bildungsroman: "For those unable to get to a polling place the day of the election, there are other ways to vote, such as absentee ballots and mail-in ballots, which you may fill out while in the comfort of your own home. You may wear your pajamas and eat ice cream while casting your vote for positions and propositions which will touch you, your family, your friends, and your country."
Tricia at the Miss Rumphius Effect: "For many, many years voting was a right afforded to privileged white men. We have a come a long way since those days, but we still have a long way to go. Every voice, every opinion matters. We cannot move this country forward without the thoughtful participation of ALL our citizens, young and old, male and female, partisan and non-partisan."
Charlotte at Charlotte's Library: "Voting always makes me cry, I'll explain, with my best attempt at an insouciant shrug. Because, darn it, it does."
Alex at The Children's War: "You see, my dad was an immigrant. He came here for a better life and he found one. After a few years, he became a citizen and, despite our childish here-we-go-again-eye-rolling, he never got tired of telling us how lucky we were to be born in this country - especially on the first Tuesday of every November."
Jone has a Walt Whitman poem at Check It Out: "It seems to me that each political season stirs up more divisiveness than the earlier. It's stunning the amount of money spent to get elected. In "For You, O Democracy," I found hope in the lines."
I'm writing about my great grandmother here at Chasing Ray: "I vote for Julia because life is hard and doing my part to try and make it a better place is something I owe her, and every other woman then and now who finds themselves in the same circumstance."
David at Fomograms: "It's like being asked if you want chocolate or vanilla, saying "I don't care," and then complaining about the flavor you've been given. As the popular bumper sticker goes "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For the Other Guy," except I didn't even do that much, and so by extraction, it's my fault after all."
Sarah at Finding Wonderland: "When I was little, my mother would bring me with her to the polling place--often in some devoted volunteer's garage--and I'd see the excitement, the people going in and out of the little voting booths, and I already looked forward to being a part of it. It wasn't just a matter of getting a neat "I voted" sticker. Voting was a fact of life, and there was no question that I'd one day do it."
Debra at Library Lass: "I'm a blue girl in the one of the reddest states in the union."
Justin has a comic up at babble comics. Here's a clip:
