So I did my civic duty
I voted yesterday, which was actually kind of cool. I did have to go into town and vote there because there was postmark ickiness with my registration, then they couldn't find me in the system, and...yeah, lots of fun and games, but Dad took me in and was very patient--hell, very helpful and enthusiastic--about the whole procedure. The place was crowded as hell and a lady who overdosed on her morning crazy pills dropped by, but Dad stayed cheerful about the whole thing. Kudos to you, Pop. :)
(Crazy lady: She had an outburst that involved threatening to hit people with her cane, screaming at the staff that she had to "walk all the way from Oregon City IN THE RAIN because YOU PEOPLE couldn't fix my address when I sent in the form last May and my ancestors DIED for my right to vote", and then nearly bursting into tears at the counter as she rinsed and repeated this routine three or four times. Hey, voting's very important but I don't see why it's worth crying about....)
Anyway, I was really astonished by how so many of the measures sound good on the surface, but when you think about it they're really a horrible idea. There were some measures about limiting corporate interests' donations to campaigns, which I really like--let's get our politicians out of debt to these people, by all means, so they're not repaying them at taxpayer expense--but the part where I saw it would involve amending the free speech portions of the Oregon State Constitution definitely put me off. No, *that's* not going to fly in my household, thank you very much. I was surprised by how some of the decisions really have to come down to picking the lesser of two evils.
I was also surprised by how some of the candidates either offer nothing but glowing endorsements of themselves, with nothing to say about their views, or make really stupid promises. "I'll get the troops out of Iraq!" That's an admirable statement, but how do you plan to do it? Get a whole bunch of private jets, fly to Iraq, kidnap all of the soldiers, and bring them home? In contrast, the woman I voted for as representative (a sensible woman to begin with, one who's in line with my values, and I kind of think I owed it to her for being so nice about all the letters I've sent her urging her to support various environmental measures ;) ) stated that she'd voted against the war and was supporting efforts to bring the troops home, and in the mean time she was fighting to get them all the protections they needed. That's a game plan. That tells me what I'm in for if I vote for her. I wish more candidates would take that approach.
I ended up voting No on a lot of stuff, actually, though not after a lot of thought. I think the only obvious black-and-white decision was Measure 43. For the non-Oregonians: in a nutshell, 43 would mandate giving 48 hours notice to the parents/guardians of a teenage girl seeking an abortion, and open up all sorts of criminal penalties for doctors. Unfortunately, there were only two options: yes and no. I would have liked to check the ABSOLUTELY NOT A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL option. Ah well.
So I did my part to get sensible people in office and keep stupid laws from being passed, and while my vote might not have been a deciding one, it still counted. I stood up for what I believe in and became a more informed citizen. So I'm quite pleased with myself. :)
(Crazy lady: She had an outburst that involved threatening to hit people with her cane, screaming at the staff that she had to "walk all the way from Oregon City IN THE RAIN because YOU PEOPLE couldn't fix my address when I sent in the form last May and my ancestors DIED for my right to vote", and then nearly bursting into tears at the counter as she rinsed and repeated this routine three or four times. Hey, voting's very important but I don't see why it's worth crying about....)
Anyway, I was really astonished by how so many of the measures sound good on the surface, but when you think about it they're really a horrible idea. There were some measures about limiting corporate interests' donations to campaigns, which I really like--let's get our politicians out of debt to these people, by all means, so they're not repaying them at taxpayer expense--but the part where I saw it would involve amending the free speech portions of the Oregon State Constitution definitely put me off. No, *that's* not going to fly in my household, thank you very much. I was surprised by how some of the decisions really have to come down to picking the lesser of two evils.
I was also surprised by how some of the candidates either offer nothing but glowing endorsements of themselves, with nothing to say about their views, or make really stupid promises. "I'll get the troops out of Iraq!" That's an admirable statement, but how do you plan to do it? Get a whole bunch of private jets, fly to Iraq, kidnap all of the soldiers, and bring them home? In contrast, the woman I voted for as representative (a sensible woman to begin with, one who's in line with my values, and I kind of think I owed it to her for being so nice about all the letters I've sent her urging her to support various environmental measures ;) ) stated that she'd voted against the war and was supporting efforts to bring the troops home, and in the mean time she was fighting to get them all the protections they needed. That's a game plan. That tells me what I'm in for if I vote for her. I wish more candidates would take that approach.
I ended up voting No on a lot of stuff, actually, though not after a lot of thought. I think the only obvious black-and-white decision was Measure 43. For the non-Oregonians: in a nutshell, 43 would mandate giving 48 hours notice to the parents/guardians of a teenage girl seeking an abortion, and open up all sorts of criminal penalties for doctors. Unfortunately, there were only two options: yes and no. I would have liked to check the ABSOLUTELY NOT A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL option. Ah well.
So I did my part to get sensible people in office and keep stupid laws from being passed, and while my vote might not have been a deciding one, it still counted. I stood up for what I believe in and became a more informed citizen. So I'm quite pleased with myself. :)