reflection of the election

I was never one to vote. In high school I cast empty ballots or just didn't do them. I could give two shits who the prom queen should be or the class president. whatever. I could have voted in the 2000 election and the 2004 election but refused to register. I have issues with our voting system and the "democracy" of it all. However, this year I was just nervous. Nervous that the same person would be re-elected in a different body. I didn't like either candidate really and quite honestly did not follow the election until around September. So to save myself the guilt of having another 4 years of Bush policies, and to be able to bitch and whine about politics, I registered to vote a few days before the deadline. Now that I've voted, I don't see myself really voting again, except maybe in local elections. I was extremely disappointed with the voting system and think it's even more flawed than before.

I arrived at my polling place with my letter saying I'm registered and my voter booklet to read up on the 101 propositions that CA/LA had. I go in only to find out that I'm not on the list. Therefore, I had to fill out a provisional ballot. What a buzz kill. My first voting experience and my vote gets counted next to last? LAME. On top of that, they don't check IDs?! WHAT THE FUCK? How is that possible? So they just go by signatures? Because that's legit. I could have sent anyone in there to vote for me and they could have done it. I didn't feel satisfied or proud, I felt gypped. By the time most of the results were in and/or projected, my lone vote was probably close to being counted. Probably counted well after the results were set in stone so it really didn't matter. Will I vote in the next election? Who knows, as of now I'm leaning towards no.

On that note, I hope this Presidency works out better than the last one. Obama has a lot of promises and people have high hopes so I hope he doesn't disappoint. I'm just glad to see some diversity in the Whitehouse. Oh, and did everyone forget that Obama is half white? That he was raised by his grandparents? That he lived in Hawaii and also Indonesia where he attended school? Yeah, I think people miss those points and focus on the black. He ain't black, he's a mutt. This whole race thing is very reminiscent of the Tiger Woods craze.

I was interesting to see my peers on the street corners on the night of the election cheering and showing pride in this country. Never have I heard anyone my age give or take 5 years, chanting USA! USA! It was bizarre. Craziness. However, if the results of this election make everyone more alert and interested in politics than good for them. We need more informed, and interested people. I just hope the same people showing super US pride don't fall off the bandwagon when the glitz of Obama's inauguration wears off and he starts to be the real President. Who knows what's to come. I just hope it's better.

I'll leave you all with a couple of images of the hood on election night.