I woke up this morning like a kid on Christmas Day - as I opened my eyes I remembered what we were doing today. Today was the day I was going to cast my first vote for President - my vote for Barack Obama. Yep I'm a 40- something year old virgin.
I'm a naturalized citizen and although I was eligible to get my citizenship in 2007 I didn't realize it and so it wasn't until 2009 that I got my citizenship in the United States. But I'm sort of glad I didn't get vote for Obama last time. Seems strange right? At the time I was devastated - more below the orange croissant of truth.
In 2008 I was a new mom and just a resident even though I had been living here since 1995 when I moved to Colorado for graduate studies. I had wanted Gore and Kerry to win and was heartbroken when they didn't and mad as hell, but there wasn't much I could do.
After 8 years of Bush-43 however I was determined that we would have a Dem in the White House. But again, not being a citizen, and worse - living in the Red state of Texas there didn't seem much I could do. Then I found Kos and the Obama call tool. I started making calls. I had young kids and a full time job but I had no vote, so I made time every night to make calls. It wasn't a record breaking number of calls but I made my calls because there was nothing else I could do.
This year I can vote, but you know what not having a vote 4 years ago allowed me to really figure out about joining a campaign, what grassroots means and what democracy in action looks like. I bought signs and bumper stickers in bulk and gave them to friends and amazingly became an election resource for many of my friends in terms of propositions and voting rules, locations and hours. Having a vote doesn't cause me to unlearn any of that.
I didn't come from an oppressed country by a long shot. I came from the Caribbean with a civilized democracy, but I also grew up in the shadow of the Jamaican Elections of 1980 - which left people a bit shy about expressing their politics even if they didn't live in Jamaica. I'm fairly certain if I had been allowed to vote last time I would not have done much else. My husband says I'm not giving myself enough credit and he doubts that. But I do know that 2008 election changed the way I view elections. They are not a passive event to be endured or watched like the Olympics but rather a time to clear my schedule and get elbow deep in shaping the way things go.
So this morning, I bundled up the kids and my husband and I went out, taking the kids with us to our early voting location - we waited until this weekend so we could do it as a family, and we cast our vote - and for the first time I put my "X" next to Barack Obama. I was so thrilled - even though my electoral college votes will be going to Romney. And now I'm home making GOTV calls. So yeah, in a way- maybe it is a good thing I couldn't vote last cycle.
PS - to be clear -I've voted in the mid-term and local races since 2009 this is just my first presidential race. Before I moved to the US I only voted once in the Caribbean and it was for a member of parliament in a special election.
10:40 AM PT: Whoa- rec list. Thanks everyone. Is makes up for the voting machine not launching confetti when I voted this morning!!!