Process Cheese
Nov. 2nd, 2004 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
standardtomI stood in a long line in a misty rain this morning to cast my vote.
I'm the kind of person who is very aware of, interested in, and comforted by ritual, ceremony, convention. And to me, the first Tuesday in November has always been essentially a holiday, when all of us should be doing the same thing. In a nation as diverse as ours, it's one of the few things that brings us all to the table. Or it should, anyway.
I will admit that I've been remiss, but even though I've lived in the city limits of Jackson, in Hinds County, since January of 2001, I haven't yet changed my voter registration from Jackson suburb Ridgeland in Madison County. So, standing in line to vote, less than a hundred yards from the apartment I lived in for ten years before Derek and I moved in together, and talking with the people in line around me was a bit of an emotional experience. There I was, a fortysomething gay man, flanked by a middle-aged (almost certainly straight) white man, a middle-aged black woman, and a quiet young Hispanic man. All there to do the same thing. Not necessarily with the same ideas in our heads about who we'd vote for of course, but no matter. That's the nature of the process. The man, the woman, and I chatted amiably as we waited in the mist, the lady deciding that a plastic Wal-Mart bag from her purse would be just the thing to protect her hair. I got to glad-hand briefly with the mayor of the fair city of Ridgeland, a handsome salt & pepper bearded man, who is actually a heck of a guy, a pretty decent trombone player, and, though he was in a suit today, displays a damn fine set of thick muscular legs covered with dark hair when he's wearing shorts...
Okay... so, what was I talking about? Oh. Right. Elections. Sorry about that.
Whatever happens today, tonight, and in the coming weeks, I have faith that we'll ultimately have a peaceful transfer of power, as we always do. That's something I think we take for granted here in the United States. When someone loses an election, even though they may contest it in the courts, when the courts rule, they go away and the person who won assumes authority.
That's worth a lot, even if you think the person who won is a bastard.
If you've voted, a nod and a "there ya go" to you. If you haven't, you need to get that done. If you aren't registered, do it and get involved next time.
I'm the kind of person who is very aware of, interested in, and comforted by ritual, ceremony, convention. And to me, the first Tuesday in November has always been essentially a holiday, when all of us should be doing the same thing. In a nation as diverse as ours, it's one of the few things that brings us all to the table. Or it should, anyway.
I will admit that I've been remiss, but even though I've lived in the city limits of Jackson, in Hinds County, since January of 2001, I haven't yet changed my voter registration from Jackson suburb Ridgeland in Madison County. So, standing in line to vote, less than a hundred yards from the apartment I lived in for ten years before Derek and I moved in together, and talking with the people in line around me was a bit of an emotional experience. There I was, a fortysomething gay man, flanked by a middle-aged (almost certainly straight) white man, a middle-aged black woman, and a quiet young Hispanic man. All there to do the same thing. Not necessarily with the same ideas in our heads about who we'd vote for of course, but no matter. That's the nature of the process. The man, the woman, and I chatted amiably as we waited in the mist, the lady deciding that a plastic Wal-Mart bag from her purse would be just the thing to protect her hair. I got to glad-hand briefly with the mayor of the fair city of Ridgeland, a handsome salt & pepper bearded man, who is actually a heck of a guy, a pretty decent trombone player, and, though he was in a suit today, displays a damn fine set of thick muscular legs covered with dark hair when he's wearing shorts...
Okay... so, what was I talking about? Oh. Right. Elections. Sorry about that.
Whatever happens today, tonight, and in the coming weeks, I have faith that we'll ultimately have a peaceful transfer of power, as we always do. That's something I think we take for granted here in the United States. When someone loses an election, even though they may contest it in the courts, when the courts rule, they go away and the person who won assumes authority.
That's worth a lot, even if you think the person who won is a bastard.
If you've voted, a nod and a "there ya go" to you. If you haven't, you need to get that done. If you aren't registered, do it and get involved next time.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-02 09:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-02 09:42 am (UTC)And your mayor sounds HAWT.
Happy Election Day!