377 days - Blog #21 Votes for Women

I think it should come as no great shock to you that I like politics.  I would like to hope if you have read anything I write with attention that you have realized I do have strong opinions, but an equally strong desire to listen and understand the other side.  I ask a lot of questions.  Of the ‘other’ side (whatever that means), but most significantly, myself.

Anyway, I do take that enthusiasm – yeah, no, that’s not the word… interest – that’s kind of dumb, but it will do for now – in the political reality very seriously.  In other words, I actually have tried to put that speculative opinionating into action by getting involved in local politics – in the grittiest and most unpleasant of it all – discussions of how to spend taxes.

I have articulated here and in many a Facebook rant/post how this tedium of meetings and discussions and poring over spreadsheets and numbers has made the act of voting VERY REAL to me.  In my small town, every show of a hand counts.  Literally.  And just one can make or break a decision.

Not that I made it a practice to take voting for granted.  I am going to confess to you, dear Reader, that the year I moved to Newton I failed to submit my registration in time… so I wasn’t allowed to vote for Kerry against my least favorite Bush.  There I said it.  I am ashamed of that fact.  But since then, I have made a point to go to every local, state, and federal election.  I was one of the 20% of extremely blue, lefty Newton that showed up for the mayoral primary in 2009.   I also missed a couple town meetings when I first moved back to town and was commuting. 

But, really, it’s not for you I say this.  Every time I go to my antiquated town hall and check off a square with a golf pencil, I do it for these ladies.  

94 years ago, they got the right to vote.  Four years after the government took their sons and husbands and brothers to a war across the sea.  After over a century of suffering miserable, horrid, wretched torture because… what… voting was a threat?

It was such a big deal to put down the movement… such a big deal to have that freedom and power to vote that it was worth giving up food, sanity, love, life and peace.  And now... we just throw away our chance to fulfill that because we don’t like cable news?  Or it is a pain to get to the school at 7pm?  Because we think that what we have to say doesn't matter.

Yeah, um, no.