Vote

Unless you've completely tuned out the outside world, you know that this coming Tuesday, November 4, is an election day.  Here in North Carolina, it's a big one, with a Senate seat, seats in the House, seats in the state legislature, and a lot of judicial seats up for grabs.  Money from outside NC has been flooding into our state in an attempt to sway the election.  Ads are everywhere.

As anyone who has read this blog for long knows, I am a political liberal.  I think the current North Carolina legislature has behaved abominably and done a great deal of damage to our state.  I fear the stupid behavior and slowdowns that will come if the Republicans end up controlling both houses of the U.S. Congress.

If you agree with me, get out and vote, and help the Democrats retain control of the U.S. Senate and gain some more control within this state (or wherever you live).

Even if you don't agree with me, though, I urge you to vote your beliefs.  A lot of people over a lot of years have sacrificed everything they had to keep our country as free as it is today, and the right to vote is one of the greatest of those freedoms.  I know many people feel their votes won't matter, but election after election we encounter races so close that every vote was important. 

If an overwhelming majority of my fellow citizens vote against my positions, then I'll have to live with that or move to another country--and I don't plan on moving.  If I'm going to lose, I'd like it to be because my fellow citizens clearly spoke. 

Next Tuesday is going to be a particularly insane day for me, so I voted early.  The process was easy, the experience pleasant.  If you don't want to fight the crowds on Tuesday, vote early.  If you like being among a big group of other voters--something I do sometimes enjoy--maybe wait for next Tuesday.  Either is fine. 

Just vote.