Voting...

I don't know about the rest of the world. I know every media outlet has been bombarding us with political advertisements in my town. I haven't been paying much attention to political madness. I don't know what the issues are. Everything has paled in the the light of my family's current events. I had made up my mind to not vote this time. I didn't even know what day to vote.

I am tired of politicians making promises they can't keep. I'm tired of seeing their ads bashing their opposition. I think these men and women start out wanting to change or improve on the way things are. They just get caught up in the pocketbooks of the people who pay for their campaigns. Somewhere between the decision to run for office, campaigning, and serving in office, they loose their heads. They forget who they are and what their core values are. I'm sure there are a few that haven't sold out, but I don't think they make the headlines.

Don't get me wrong! I DO care about this country and what happens to it. It is my temporary home. I don't plan on staying here on earth forever and ever amen. I do think we should be good keepers of the things we've been entrusted with. I care about political things.

• I want our National debt to be paid off. We will always been enslaved to other nations until our debt is gone. I enjoy saving money as much as the the next person, but I would prefer for America to remain America. I don't want to be Asian or some other nationality because my country can't be fiscally responsible. America is living paycheck to paycheck. Not good!
• I want Dylan to have the best Education. We must fix schools! I worry that by the time Dylan is old enough to go to school there won't be any schools in which to send him.
• I don't want babies aborted. Children are a precious gift. They should be treated as such. 
• Prisons shouldn't be a nice place to go. You messed up. Why are you being rewarded with luxuries working class people can't afford like gyms, movie rooms, and computers?
• I want the government to stop sticking their noses in every portion of my life.
• I want us to stop being the world's police men. Bring our troops home. We are still in every country we ever fought in- Russia, Germany, France, Vietnam
• Social Security was a nice idea in it's inception, but why must I pay for something I will never benefit from? I don't pay and pay and pay for groceries that I will never eat!

You get the idea. I care. I just wasn't going to vote this time. I was busy running errands. I kept passing my polling location. I got to thinking about history. I come from a long line of black people who fought and died for their civil rights. I am a sister to the ladies of the suffrage. They were beaten and bleed for wanting a voice. I thought about the many ships that came across the Atlantic to Ellis Island. Those people came for a better life, for freedom from persecution, freedom from tyranny. They wanted to have life, liberty, and have a say in the pursuit of what happens in their lives. I "heard" their voice today cry out:

How dare you take advantage of me!

I bleed for your freedom.

I left everything I knew- family, friends, and the earth I was born on.

I dream of you finding your voice.

You have been given the opportunity to speak,

yet you are silent.

I was stuck on a boat, sold, traded, enslaved.

You walk free.

Will you not speak for me?

To say the least I voted...