Make the change, I'll meet you here tomorrow, Independence Day

So, I celebrated my right to vote this morning. My voter registration just came in TODAY, so no early voting for me. I had to be at work at 7:30ish and the polls opened at 7 here, so I rolled out of bed at 5 and was there at 6. The images of South Africans waiting in polling lines for TWO DAYS kept playing in my mind, so I figured I 'd better at least be an hour early if I wanted to vote. Two days, dying in the African sun, one hour at 65 degrees, I'll make the sacrifice. I expected to pull into the parking lot and be greeted with a 3 hour wait, at which point, I had planned to call work and explain that I would be late because my right to vote was just this important and Susan B. Anthony and Nelson Mandela and GOD all wanted me to vote. You don't want to get in the way of that triumverate. But, as it was, I pulled up, walked up to the doors where some ladies were pulling signs out of a white church van. Had my polling place been changed? Were they preparing for a potluck?

6am.
Me: Is there a line?
Church lady: Are you here to watch the polls or to vote?
Me: To vote.
C.L.: You know we don't start for another hour, right?
Me: Yeah, I just didn't know if there would be a line.
C.L.: Nope, no line.
Me: Can I start one?
C.L.: Sure.

I was really surprised. I waited for THREE hours to vote for Kerry, and in that election, I didn't even really like Kerry. I just didn't like Bush.

Austin is an interesting place. An example of how a pocket of like-minded individuals can become even MORE extreme in their views if they are surrounded by people that think differently than they do. I've actually spent a lot of time talking to my students about how just because you're a republican doesn't mean that you: hate poor people/love war/want to spread pollution all over the planet. And that even republicans can: go crazy over baby animals/eat organic food/need love too. These kids want to end the war in Iraq, clean up the environment, make sure people have healthcare, allow gay marriage.
What a paradigm shift. I never really thought I would have this conversation:

Kid: (after flipping a coin and having it land on heads for John McCain) Oh no! I'm evil! I'm evil!
Me: There, there, Johnny. We've talked about this. Just because you're a republican, does that mean you are evil? Can you be a republican and be a nice person?
Kid: Yeah, yeah, but I'M EVIL!

I've never seen a more progressive place. And I've seen a few.
I spent a long time today telling kids to Pay Attention. Stay up Late. My co-worker told them to Please Pay Attention. Make Your Future Selves Happy. This is Important.

So anyway, voting was fairly anticlimactic. Well, I'll say that waiting in line was pretty anticlimactic. Going in the voting booth and casting my vote (even knowing that I was in a red state, even knowing that my one vote wouldn't matter as much this election as it might have in the past) was pretty historic. It even felt historic. I spent awhile looking at the presidential candidates' names on the ballot, taking it all in. Knowing that someday, I would want to be able to tell other people what that moment was like. Pretty Darn Good. That's what it was like.

And, I got to rock this sticker all day.
They asked me if I wanted a sticker. They didn't ask me if I wanted a sticker printed in English. But I love it. It's not only, hey, I did this, don't forget that you probably want to remember to do this, too, if you have time today.

My sticker says, Stand Up. Pay Attention. This is Important. Make Your Future Self Happy. Vote, yo.