Believe it or not, I was having long, sometimes heated conversations with my parents about things like the Vietnam War before I even made it into double digits.

I keep up on issues, I read, I listen, I watch and I always always vote. I write to my representatives.

It’s been a rocky road some of the years since I turned 18 and cast my first vote. I have been disappointed when my guy didn’t win, and I have sometimes been disappointed by my guy after he has won. (I’m REALLY disappointed that it’s still been all GUYS to date.)

But I kept fighting the good fight.

This past ten years or so it’s been hard not to get jaded. Events I believe were mishandled, a frightening rise in corporate power, increasingly invasive encroachment on civil rights made me think it was time to opt out.

There are tons of apolitical people living full and happy lives.

I was torn between my sense of civic responsibility and managing my own angst.

After watching the past couple of nights of speeches at the DNC, I am reinvigorated. Former President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Kal Penn, Elizabeth Warren, Dival Patrick
Joe Biden and I missed so many others, reminded me how truly blessed we are as Americans and how very much we owe to our forefathers, our brothers and sisters.

It reminded me of what I have known since I was a child, that my voice matters, I matter and I have a responsibility to make my voice heard, otherwise a government of the people, by the people and for the people doesn’t work. The United States Government isn’t them, the government is US.

I also had an awful lot of fun live-tweeting unfolding events as i watched. It made me feel like just a tiny part of history.

And I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to vote. Here is a link where you can register: Register to Vote if you are in New York State as I am. You should be able to google for other states. If you have trouble, contact me via comments and I will help.

Also, if you will be out of town on election day and you are a New Yorker, go here. Again, if you have trouble contact me and I will help ifI can.

I think it’s crucial that people vote and I would rather help people I disagree with to cast their vote than to see even one vote suppressed. The ongoing voter suppression efforts currently being organized countrywide are a disturbing abuse of money and power and one of the most Unamerican events of my lifetime.

So vote, participate, pay your taxes, perform your jury duty and try, just try to appreciate how fortunate we are and do it without complaint.

As always feel free to comment. I do moderate before comments are posted, so feel free to disagree, but do not be mean or profane or inflammatory or it won’t get posted.

And just in case you have not downloaded the Constitution App to your smartphone, the US Constitution states that the GOVERNMENT cannot “abridge your freedom of speech”* but I sure as hell can on my site, so keep it clean.

*please take note of this if you don’t know already, the constitutional provision for freedom of speech applies ONLY to the government. You are free to boycott the face off of a business whose policies you disagree with, or advertisers supporting a media pundit given to vitriolic hyperbole.

That’s called voting with your pocketbook and it has zero to do with free speech.