It’s Election Day in America
Regardless of the victor, it’s going to feel like a new day for America. So many people have so many expectations and wishes for the incoming administration.
My personal desires are:
- For Congress to step forward and curtail the expanded Executive powers insisted upon by the Bush administration. Reestablish the checks and balances of the system.
- To improve the diplomatic standing of the United States within the world.
- For the new President to really understand the importance of the Supreme Court and for him to nominate justices who also understand this.
- To no longer be treated as if I am stupid.
- For the President to focus on communication, and for him to gain support through demonstrating, through argument, that his position is the better one.
So really, these wishes do apply to either candidate, but of course, I will be voting for just one.
In the past, I’ve wondered why Americans are so rah-rah about the spread of democracy around the world when we are so indifferent about the application of this governing system right here at home. When participation is under fifty percent, that’s not a democracy, that’s an oligarchy.
Perhaps today will be different. Perhaps we will go over fifty percent today.
And as a reminder, a lot of county clerks and election boards make sample ballots available ahead of time these days. For Cook County residents, you can get yours online and figure out all those mystery judges before you enter the booth.
Suburban Cook County voters should visit David Orr’s awesome election website. City of Chicago residents, go to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
Here’s to hoping the all goes well and that fraud is kept to a non-factoring minimum.