Voted Today… Also Sale Continues…
I Dropped Off My Ballot Today…
I was born in the Truman administration , vaguely remember the Nixon/Kennedy election, remember clearly Kennedy getting shot, remember being angry Nixon was elected in 1968 and I gave up being active when he was reelected in 1972.
Kris got me paying attention again to politics in the late 1980s and ever since then I have been active. But in all those years, I never remember being as scared for the results of an election as I am now. I always had policy disagreements with one party or the other, always worried about what would happen. Sure. We all did. Nature of a democracy (or better put, a representative government.)
But never have I been flat scared before. I just remained neutral, voted who I wanted to vote for, accepted the wins and losses and went on. But this time we no longer have the normal two-party system. One party has followed the path taken in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and is backing a fascist who has flat said he wants to be a dictator, and experts say the election is close, which I don’t understand. (Please do not try to explain it to me.)
I am almost 74 years old and have no desire to live in a dictatorship for what would be the rest of my life. Especially under a dictator who has gone crazy. (Not once in all my years as a golf professional did I ever think of Arnold Palmer’s junk. Not once.)
So today I did at this point the most important thing I could do. I voted.
I hope Harris wins soundly, Trump goes to jail on his many convictions, and he ends up screaming about all the women he raped and groped while bound in a straight jacket drooling. And then I hope I can live my life out in a nation with two healthy parties, who talk and debate issues and the future.
As it should be.
If you are voting for the twice impeached convicted felon, convicted rapist, a man clearly suffering from dementia who stands against a woman’s rights to her own health, then please just slink off into your swamp. I really never want to know.
But if you have any ethics left, no matter what party you used to belong to, go vote for Harris. Save the country your father and grandfathers fought and died to save. It is the most powerful thing you can do.
(I will not accept political discussion here… take it to social media.)
Picture below is of a six-foot-tall white guy born in Idaho voting for Harris.
And one last note: Sale is still going because sadly we are not done moving yet. At least a few more days.
20 Comments
Fabien Delorme
Thank you for this, Dean. I’m not American so I can’t vote for that election obviously, but I certainly don’t want the US to become a dictatorship. It would impact all of us around the world.
Mary Jo Rabe
Thank you! I’m scared, too.
Ken Hughes
+1. And this is in a space where you and especially Kris normally practice (and preach) staying clear of political details.
Kate Pavelle
We also voted early. My husband is working as an electtion clerk in another precinct and I can’t drive yet, so we got it out of the way. The early voting place was a held at a skating rink in a park, and it was packed. Huge early turnout. People ate knocking on our doors and calling us, doing all they can to make sure we cast our votes. Our older daughter is also workint the polls, in her precinct. She drew some pointed cartoons for the Harris campaign, and she canvassed. I phone banked.
Now Pittsburgh leans Democratic, but I saw strong Harris presence in smaller towns, where Trump got booed as he drove through. I am scared, but many indicators fill me with hope.
I didn’t come to this country, the home of the free, just to see it get handed over to another Caligula. Ah, we live in interesting times.
Valerie
Thanks for this, Dean. I’m scared too. I keep vacillating between dreading the results and wanting the whole thing to be over with. I’ll be heading for the voting booth November 5.
bonnie
Wow. Just Wow. You rarely express political opinions and the fact that you are writing about them on this blog is really scary. I’ve been terrified all year and I find it difficult to wrap my mind around why anyone would vote that way. My husband has tried asking in person but the responses don’t make sense to me. I always feel as if I am in an alternate reality from them. My hope remains in the fact that in the purple county of the red state I live in, there are fewer Trump signs. Even some yards that have all Republican signs for representatives, have no signs for either presidential candidate. This wasn’t true even four years ago.
Dave Raines
You’re lucky, or foresighted. In Nevada, a Presidential vote actually has some impact. Oregon, not so much. (I vote anyway!)
Kevin McLaughlin
Right there with you. Already voted, too, same way you did. I cannot see how a human being with a conscience could do otherwise.
Pamela Mohan
I voted for Harris. I’m 74 years old and I, too, am scared about the possibility of Trump getting elected. I consider this to be the most important election in my lifetime. God bless and protect America, our constitution, and freedom. In 2016 my husband Kim and I sat on the couch together in abject horror as the votes rolled in for Trump. Sadly, Kim is no longer here or Harris would have one more vote. On election night, he’ll be with me in spirit and I hope this time it will be good news. Thank you for posting.
Krista Dietrich
Thanks Dean, I’m terrified as well. I never imagined we’d get here, and I have a very active imagination. Truth is stranger than fiction. And more scary. It’s appropriate this election is being held close to Halloween.
Brenda Carr
This Canadian is scared too, for you folks and for us so close to the border. We are a peace keeping force but how does that work if we have a dictatorship to our north and our south.
Deb Miller
Thank you, Dean, for breaking your normal rule of no politics. I have always completely understood the rule, so I respect what it took for you to break it. I too am very scared. I love and respect many conservatives, including my 3 siblings. But Trump’s party no longer represents true conservatives. As you said, we need a healthy two-party system that can discuss and work together on real issues. Without that, I’m pressuring my husband to get his Canadian citizenship (which he can do) so we can go to a place that actually has and values a democracy.
Steve Perry
Yeah, Dean.
Mark Coker
Kudos Dean. Thank you.
Chong Go
>Not once in all my years as a golf professional did I ever think of Arnold Palmer’s junk. Not once.
Lol!!!
Thanks, Dean. You may not have meant it to be funny, but it hit me that way, and I needed the laugh. And I’ve voted!!
Mark Kuhn
I noticed a couple of posts from people who live in Canada, probably the nicest country on the planet. But I feel really bad for you guys because it must feel like you live in an apartment above a meth lab.
Kari Kilgore
I’ve been using my anxious energy to volunteer for the first time since 1992. Since we’re lucky enough in Virginia to get to vote in September, it’s making a huge difference to help other folks do the same. I’m hopeful that being able to tell people they can same-day register in more states than they think will help turn the tide!
Harold Goodman
I feel like crying.
Since 1776 we have had a vibrant democracy.
Now for the first time in my life, an avowed fascist who admires dictators, may be elected.
Thanks for voting and for using your blog to reach others.
This may be the last time that we can do this if this monster is elected.
Annemarie Nikolaus
I’m holding my breath.
We Europeans depend on the outcome of this election.
Thanks for this post, Dean.
Linda Niehoff
I’m late to read this, but thank you for posting. I’m hopeful today. And scared.