Shut up and vote

My mommies' group "debated" online this week the important issues of the election. What started as a simple statement of interests rapidly spiraled downward into a nasty exchange of self-righteous indignation. And what was really odd is that most of them feel the same way, yet still got snippy with one another - one woman actually said that she is tired of working hard so that illegal immigrants can come to this country and "have it easy." Once again, I realized that I am SO not in sync with 98% of them!

I stayed out of the debate as long as I could, but once they inevitably reached the point where multiple posters stated that we had no good choices for president, that neither candidate represented their views, I had enough. It was time for a reasoned point of view that was different from theirs:

"As a person with a strong liberal leaning, I feel very differently than many of the opinions expressed yesterday. And that is okay. All I will say is that I am excited about this presidential election, because for the first time in my life, I have the choice of voting for someone other than a white man, and that is thrilling to me. And the white man in the race is not exactly your typical run-of-the-mill politician, which also pleases me. I had hoped to vote for a woman, but that did not happen (this was before McCain named his vice presidential candidate).

As long as I can remember, people have said that there aren't any real choices for president, that we are choosing "the lesser of two evils." Good grief, is that really true EVERY four years? Just because a person who represents your views 100% is not running doesn't mean you don't have a real choice. I expect that I will have to make some compromises when it comes to choosing the person who gets my vote. And I admire the people who choose to put aside their personal privacy and run for office, whether or not I agree with them or like them or am suspicious of their motives. It takes a certain type of person who is willing to step out into the national spotlight and sacrifice everything, perhaps even their life, and most of us are not willing to do that.

Presidents don't really have the power that we think they do or what the candidates' campaign promises state. For me, the President of the US plays two important roles: 1) representing the US in the global arena, and 2) possibly nominating Supreme Court justices. Obama or McCain will represent us well on the global stage, I have no doubt, and my vote will be for the one who would nominate a justice in whom I could feel confident.

Surprisingly, I received fairly positive feedback to my post. But, of course, there was one woman who said that after reading my post, she "might actually 'like' a liberal." Well, good for her.

But what really frosts my fanny is that despite their vim and vigor, probably half of them won't bother to go out on 4 November and vote. There will be excuses out the window, but the bottom line is that many people simply do not care enough to vote. And that is a shame.

Don't spout your conservative or liberal ideologies at me - just shut up and vote.