(no subject)
As you may have guessed, I am back from Detroit, where I woke up yesterday at 5:30 a.m. to fight the good fight as a poll watcher/voter protection attorney for the Obama campaign. They had enough volunteers that I was able to leave at midday and watch the returns roll in here in sunny Buffalo.
Re: Detroit -- this all made me feel both good and bad about the state of our democracy. It was like living in a Latin American country I can't quite place. On one hand, people were serious about the election, hopeful for the future and the possibility of change and a better, more inclusive future. They were also ready to rejoice in the streets when it was over, with an atmosphere like New Year's Eve in cities all over the country. On the other hand, lines were three goddamnned hours long and when people finally got to the end of the line, there was this whole elaborate process they had to go through just to get a ballot. I am rarely impressed by the government of New York State, but elections are one thing we do reasonably.
In my polling place in Detroit, there was no attempt that I saw to disenfranchise voters -- except the requirements for voting themselves. ID, affidavits, etc etc etc. Here in New York, we just sign a book and we're in. Plus, having only one little card table set up to check in several hundred people, including 50+ who were waiting outside when the polls opened at 7:00, is a form of disenfranchisement in and of itself. But, as in countries that take elections more seriously than we sometimes do, people would not take no for an answer. They showed up, saw the line winding around the entire downstairs of the elementary school, and they persevered. I wasn't watching every minute, but I saw hardly anyone give up.
There has been a lot of talk about young people during this election, and sometimes 18-29 is what counts as "young." It sounds like an arbitrary distinction, but in a way it isn't. A 29 year old was born in 1979 and was 17 in 1996, making us the oldest people who were not old enough to vote for Bill Clinton, ever. The Clinton era was before our time. As such, it may be more than hyperbole to call those of us who do not vote Republican the Obama generation. I am more proud to be part of the Obama generation than I am of most things, and I am also proud to be among the millions of Americans who gave money and/or time to make this happen. It's our country now.
Re: Detroit -- this all made me feel both good and bad about the state of our democracy. It was like living in a Latin American country I can't quite place. On one hand, people were serious about the election, hopeful for the future and the possibility of change and a better, more inclusive future. They were also ready to rejoice in the streets when it was over, with an atmosphere like New Year's Eve in cities all over the country. On the other hand, lines were three goddamnned hours long and when people finally got to the end of the line, there was this whole elaborate process they had to go through just to get a ballot. I am rarely impressed by the government of New York State, but elections are one thing we do reasonably.
In my polling place in Detroit, there was no attempt that I saw to disenfranchise voters -- except the requirements for voting themselves. ID, affidavits, etc etc etc. Here in New York, we just sign a book and we're in. Plus, having only one little card table set up to check in several hundred people, including 50+ who were waiting outside when the polls opened at 7:00, is a form of disenfranchisement in and of itself. But, as in countries that take elections more seriously than we sometimes do, people would not take no for an answer. They showed up, saw the line winding around the entire downstairs of the elementary school, and they persevered. I wasn't watching every minute, but I saw hardly anyone give up.
There has been a lot of talk about young people during this election, and sometimes 18-29 is what counts as "young." It sounds like an arbitrary distinction, but in a way it isn't. A 29 year old was born in 1979 and was 17 in 1996, making us the oldest people who were not old enough to vote for Bill Clinton, ever. The Clinton era was before our time. As such, it may be more than hyperbole to call those of us who do not vote Republican the Obama generation. I am more proud to be part of the Obama generation than I am of most things, and I am also proud to be among the millions of Americans who gave money and/or time to make this happen. It's our country now.