First off, everyone promise me that you either have or will vote today. I�m serious. You know what happens to people who don�t vote? They die. I�m sure I�m not telling you anything you don�t already know. I mean, we�ve all seen those ads. You all know that if you don�t go punch some chads today, P. Diddy will hunt you down and kill you. How he�ll find out, I�m not entirely clear, but there isn�t a lot of creative interpretation in the catchphrase �Vote or Die!�
Seriously, though, does anybody actually understand that whole ad campaign? I�ve been pretending like I get it, because it looks like one of those things where as soon as you ask, someone is all, �Duh! It�s so obvious!� and then they tell you and it is so obvious, and you kind of knew it all along, but then again, the phraseology is so decisive that, as I mentioned before, it doesn�t leave much to the imagination, so you second guessed yourself and were right back at square zero. And I sure as hell want to avoid looking like an idiot at all costs!
But for real. What in the hell does that mean? Do they mean �Vote or Die in a Philosophical Sense, Because You�ve Essentially Forfeited Your Right as a Free Citizen to Participate in Your Government and Thusly Divested Yourself of Any Control Over Your Personal Freedoms� or do they mean �Vote or Die From the Execution of Any Number of Complex New Laws Dealing Directly or Indirectly With the Cessation of Life, Such as the War in Iraq, Abortion, Capital Punishment, Pollution, Crop Dusting, and/or Gun Control, and All of Which Hinge on the Success of Various Propositions on Your Ballot�? Or do they just mean �Vote or P. Diddy Will Hunt You Down and Shoot You?� Because, as I have just proven in direct contradiction to my previous statement, the whole affair lacks a certain amount of clarity.
Anyway, regardless of what P. Diddy plans to do to me, I have been planning on making a showing at the polls tomorrow. Well, today. (I keep forgetting that I don�t get home from work until the middle of the night now.) This election is going to be a most interesting one to watch, since both the candidates and the issues are all so polarizing, and a most important one in which to participate. I vote in every major election, if not the little ones (like where you get something in the mail two days in advance, telling you to vote for School Commissioner or something, and you don�t know what that is and you don�t have any kids and you don�t know any of the candidates or issues -- those elections I stay out of, the same way I stay out of nuclear testing facilities), so of course I planned to cast my ballot for arguably the country�s most important position. The whole �not dying� thing will just be a bonus, I guess.
Anyway, I�d like to take a really quick sidebar here and congratulate myself on having steered completely clear of the whole morass of politics this year. It was one of my New Year�s resolutions to stop making my journal a platform for my personal political ideology, not because it isn�t an important part of who I am, and not out of self-censorship, but because I just don�t feel like this is the appropriate forum for that. I did mention a rally earlier this year, but it was only supplemental to the story, and I wasn�t urging any particular viewpoint on my readership, I don�t think. Which I�m still not doing.
Don�t get me wrong -- I�m not going to pretend that I totally don�t care who you vote for in this election just so long as you vote. As much as everybody else, I sincerely hope you�re all voting for the same person I am�but I also recognize that that much is impossible, and voting really is both a necessity and a privilege way too easy to take for granted. Whoever you�re championing, please don�t forget how much blood, sweat, and tears went into guaranteeing you the opportunity to have your say on Election Day. It really and truly is a freedom to be cherished and appropriately valued. So whomever you�re voting for, just vote. And then don�t tell me, because I might freak out. Just a fair warning.
But at least I won�t kill you.
Someone Got Here By Searching For: cream on my face I'm Watching: Last week's The Apprentice, and I suddenly hate everybody. And: The Food Network. First it was all Halloween-themed candy episodes, and now we're getting back into the Thanksgiving-themed pie episodes. I love the holidays so much.