Nov. 05, 2002 - 13:42 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

I Did It

Amendments, Referendums and Referred Measures along with a list of candidates and judgeships ugh. I carefully made up a cheat sheet to take to the polls today.

As we walked in the door of the polling place I remembered my cheat sheet -- still on the counter at home. But it more or less was an easy go for me. I remembered the very few things that seemed to need my yes vote on all measures and knew who I was going to vote for. Voila I was in and out of the booth in a zip.

One thing I value more and more as the years go by is personally going in, showing my ID getting a card to fill out and having it verified that I am in the right place on election day and can cast my ballot.

Early voting leaves me cold, registering by automatically doing so when auto license tags are renewed weirds me out, too. registering the day of election leaves me cold. To my way of looking at it the only voting that should be allowed other than the polling place is the absentee ballots.

My personal opinion is that a half day should be excused -- with pay from work to go vote.

Voting is such a precious thing, something which should be almost as honored as a duty of religion. A treasure that the pathetic apathetic waste by not voting.

Through the years I began to become aware of the damage the non participants did by abstaining when polled. Things became so because only the selfishly interested bothered to voice an opinion at union meetings and didn't bother to vote, some never even attended a meeting ever.

Part of the resulting damage was to my ears, listening to the ranting about what happened. They shoulda' and how could they, repetitively, hour after hour -- day after day. Want to infuriate someone like that ? Just say, "I never heard you say a thing at union meetings and often you weren't even there, I also noticed that you didn't bother to come to work on the days things were polled -- so what are you bitchin' about?

One thing that does irk me is the convoluted almost incestuous language in the amendments, referundums and referred measures. Very often the wording is so fancy and smoke-screeny that one might vote yes and find out later that due to the wording on the ballot they were conned into a yes vote when a no vote really was called for.

That and the pre poll dirty, scurrilous, smear attacks on opposing parties. They all do it, makes me ashamed of the ones I favor and disgusted with the opposition.

I have noticed in recent years that there are just too darn many things to vote on -- yet if things are not brought up to a review and a vote -- down the tube we go again.

Coming back to our apartment the onerous muffler was unwound from my neck, my shoulders rolled back and my chest popped a few buttons. It is my right and I exercised it, I voted, yes I Did It . . . . . . .

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