I'm not Republican and I'm not Democrat. I am a registered Independent and I love it. I get mail from both parties, stating their case for why they deserve my vote. I get e-mail from the McCain and Obama's campaign, both always asking me to give money that I'd rather give to a charity than towards a commercial that I am forced to watch over and over again. And most of all, I try not to force my political views on others, mainly because I speak in generalities and not specifics (kinda like politicians).So I'm not writing this post to convince you to vote for anyone. I honestly don't care who you vote for. Great thing about America is that we even get to choose. Ever since I been able to understand these presidential elections, I've always had a preference of who I wanted to win but in the end when all the votes were in and Dan Rather had put down his pen, I just wanted the winner to bring about prosperity to the USA.
Well, don't think anyone will argue with me to say Dubya has been a less than stellar President. And he wasn't my pick the past 2 elections. But again, I wanted him to do well. I liked him during 9/11 and that's it. The best part about Dubya is the fact that he is such an embarrassment in public that it makes for great comedy. I'm actually gonna miss the guy for that reason.
I watched all 4 debates and just like 4 years ago, they were only exciting when I had a beer in my hand. Just to take the edge off of hearing both men talk about what they would do even though we all know good and well only 25% of it will get done. This year, the debates were lopsided since Barack Obama is a better speaker but the third debate was the best of them all. Both candidates putting it all on the table and even being combative at times. It was pretty good TV.
But forget all the debates and issues for a second. Or at least I will right now. Why? Because I've already voted. And I voted for Barack Obama. Not gonna go into specifics into why I did but I'll just be general and say I think he'll do the better job. But I'm not gonna lie, when I colored in that bubble next to his name on my ballot, it really hit me what I was doing.
In the primary, it wasn't a big deal to me. When I watched the convention, it came to mind a little bit. But until I filled in that oval, it really hit me. I just voted for a Black guy for President. For awhile, I thought it was something that I never thought I would do in my lifetime. Until I hit college, I figured it may happen. But never did I think as a 22-year old, I would see it come to fruition.
And when I stepped back and thought about it, I really thought about just how big a deal this is. Now, I know 90% of my friends are white and I've never gone through a civil rights movement. Heck, I've never been blatantly discriminated against because of my race (to my knowledge) so far in my life. But yet, voting for a Black president meant a lot to me. It just shows me how far America has come. It gives me hope that someday racism will become a mute point. That race will not be an issue in anything ever again. Yeah, these are high hopes but who would have thought that we would have a Black president on the ballot right now.
Now, I've said for a long time that the first Black president elected will be the next President assassinated. For the life of me, I hope that's not the case because I don't want to live through that. It would be a giant step backwards for America and the biggest national tragedy since 9/11 (apologies to Hurricane Katrina).
If Barack Obama gets elected, it will be a great moment for this nation. Again, not because he is the better candidate (not for me to say), but because it is such an inspiration. Let's be serious. The Black race has had it tough in America and while there have been incredible strides for Blacks and all minorities, there still is work to do. But seeing Barack Obama make it this far has already inspired many and seeing him in the White House would inspire many more. He's already inspired me and I'm proud and honored to say that I voted for him for President of the United States.
The pundits and candidates keep saying this is the most pivotal election in our recent history. Well, as much I want to believe that, I still think 2000 was bigger. But if this is, I'm just glad that I can be a part of it. 4 years ago, I voted for John Kerry in my first ever vote for a President. Not gonna lie, was a bit disappointed when he lost because my pick didn't win. But this is a new year. And as my friend Luke most eloquently put, "just mailed my absentee ballot today - this time i better pick the winner".
MAKE SURE YOU VOTE!
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