I am 40 years old and this is the first time I will be voting. After hanging around here for several weeks I am very embarrassed about this fact. I registered for the first time in February only because I wanted to sign a petition to end the death penalty in CA. Once I received my practice ballot, I decided I would research the issues in order to be an informed voter. As I have always agreed with democrats over republicans, I found Daily Kos during my research. Here I have discovered that democrats are not the lesser of two evils, but are a progressive force for good, much more closely akin to my own ideas and ideals than I had ever thought before. I am grateful and humbled to be among you all. After being an outsider for all of my life, I have, through reading many diaries and comments, found a place that feels comfortable and right for me. If you care to, please join me below the jump.
This election terrifies me. I have begun researching a move to another country in the unlikely event of a Romney win. Conservatives terrify me as well. I have never seen or heard of such disrespect for a president, ever. I am talking with anyone I can, pushing the importance of a vote for President Obama.
I am terrified of myself as well. I was once a quiet, live and let live, atheist. More and more I find myself reacting to oppressive theists in an aggressively anti-theist manner. All of this makes me unhappy. But I am happy to finally be a voter and I am happy to have found like minded people here at Daily Kos. Thank you for your time and patience.