Civic Duty

For some reason, I got slightly high off of performing it today.

I registered to vote back in July, at a tailgating party in Milwaukee. I gave a girl my information, and was shocked at how easy it all seemed. She told me that I'd have to bring my ID with me on November 2nd, and I'd be able to vote. It seemed really strange, for some reason I thought there would be more steps. Like at the DMV. I thought there would be a mountain of paperwork to sort through. Nope, turns out all I have to do is tell them that I live at an address, and all of a sudden, I'm a voter.

I'm used to the song and dance, I suppose. I'm used to things being so electronified that they almost cease to work. I was shocked to see my name in the little booklet, actually. The little old ladies found it with almost no problem. Very nice ladies, by the way.

The machine was one of those contraptions that they made such a big stink out of last go-round. One of the women showed me what to do, which levers to push what way, and I went in. When it's all right there in your face, when it's just you and a giant Wizard of Oz-esque switchboard, it's almost too simple. Despite that, things closed down in my brain. I suddenly realized the need for the huge amount of campaigning. I was caught in there with no memory at all of anything either one of the cantidates claimed to stand for. There's all this stuff that they force-feed you, and over the course of the last year, I thought that if I heard one more cantidate say one more word, my head would explode. At the same time, though, when I was actually in the booth, it all faded away and seemed rather useless. I pondered for a minute. Feingold was a no-brainer, of course. Anyone who actually read the Patriot Act before voting (against it) deserves being a senator. Period.

As for the other guys, I almost couldn't decide. So many issues, so many policies, so many.. well, everything. Alone with the switches, it all seemed really trivial. It was a game of picking out the name that looked the most attractive. I'm sure we can all agree that it was just a matter of time before I came to my senses and voted for Bush.