So it's a little past nine, I'm just getting in from another great night at campaign headquarters and I can't help but to reflect on how much I wish I could share this moment with family members who have passed on.
We learned today of the passing Senator Obama's grandmother, one of his biggest life supports and someone he deeply loved. My heart goes out to his family. As someone who was reared by those other than my biological parents for a significant part of my childhood, I understand the special bond that exists between a child and her non biological parent. Individuals who take up the responsibility of raising someone elses child, teaching some other persons child about life, taking the good and the bad. We love them not so much because of what they do but how they do it (i'll save this for another post, this topic is interesting).
Back to my point, I purposely chose not to send in an absentee ballot because I want to experience tomorrow first hand. I am going to stand in line no matter how long it is, no matter how bad my feet may start to ache, no matter how hungry I get. I am going to stand in line for all those who came before me, those who had to stand in a separate line, those who weren't allowed to stand in line, those who went without so I could be where I am today, those who paved the way.
How selfish it will be of us not to vote.
To those of you who argue that our forefathers fought and lost their lives so that we may merely have the choice to vote, really? Are we still that far behind in our thinking?
By choosing not to vote, have we helped anything? (yet again, I'm going to stray from this area- I feel my hypertension setting in)
I will cast my vote knowing that I am the product of dreams from generations far away, the child living out the dreams of a great- great grandfather who could only imagine what voting would be like, let alone casting a ballot for someone who looked like him.
By casting my vote tomorrow, I will grab that baton passed onto me by my great grandmother who spent her mornings cleaning houses to give her children a better life. By a grandmother who wasn't afraid to follow her dreams, by my aunt who could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about history but never had the opportunity of a college education, by my mother who spent endless hours at work but somehow manged to make it to every basketball game or art show- teaching me that women can have it all.
I will cast my vote tomorrow because I remember where I came from and those who cleared the path for me. I will cast my vote for my elephant loving nephew and the generations coming after him. But mostly, if not greatest I will cast my vote for the best applicant and do an extra little dance because he happens to be brown, just like me.
Let's vote!
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2 comments:
I couldn't have said it better late than never :P Don't know how I've been out of the loop of your posts, but...guess it's been all of that school/work/application madness. In seriousness though, it PAINED me, grievously hurt me to hear brown people putting forth all sorts of excuses as to why they don't need to vote in previous (and even a few in this) election years. However, I AM grateful that we, even the world, was able to witness what we can do, for "all it takes for [injustice] to flourish is when good men do nothing." Thanks for being about it, brown people.
loving the quote!
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