::steps on the soapbox::

Growing up, my parents instilled a few facts as absolutes. Among those things (outside of general politeness and the golden rule) were a willingness to try new things (You didn't have to like them, but you did have to give them a fair chance, within reason, of course), to not let anyone talk down to you or push you around unfairly, and to vote in every.single.election. There was never such a thing as "just a primary" in my house growing up. Every first Tuesday in November found us at our local polling place. The people there knew my parents on sight, too. And when I was fairly little, I got to go in the booth with my mom or dad to see how it all worked. When I was in college, I voted absentee for four years. When I moved to the Slope, I made sure I was registered.

So, I voted today. There were more people working than voting, sadly, but I know that won't be the case next year for the big shiny election. But the little, non-sexy elections need our attention just as much, if not more. After all, these people could easily go on and become our choices for future elections. You never know. This year, the ballot was for Supreme Court Justices for NY State and some other Justice positions. Those seem pretty important to me, but you may disagree. Anyway, I'm happy to say that today I used the 19th amendment to my advantage.

::steps on the soapbox::

Growing up, my parents instilled a few facts as absolutes. Among those things (outside of general politeness and the golden rule) were a willingness to try new things (You didn't have to like them, but you did have to give them a fair chance, within reason, of course), to not let anyone talk down to you or push you around unfairly, and to vote in every.single.election. There was never such a thing as "just a primary" in my house growing up. Every first Tuesday in November found us at our local polling place. The people there knew my parents on sight, too. And when I was fairly little, I got to go in the booth with my mom or dad to see how it all worked. When I was in college, I voted absentee for four years. When I moved to the Slope, I made sure I was registered.

So, I voted today. There were more people working than voting, sadly, but I know that won't be the case next year for the big shiny election. But the little, non-sexy elections need our attention just as much, if not more. After all, these people could easily go on and become our choices for future elections. You never know. This year, the ballot was for Supreme Court Justices for NY State and some other Justice positions. Those seem pretty important to me, but you may disagree. Anyway, I'm happy to say that today I used the 19th amendment to my advantage.