November 6, 2012: Today we vote for another round of officials to guide our country. This morning before heading to the office, I waited in line for nearly an hour with hundreds of other New Yorkers to cast my vote. Granted, there is very little question about which color New York will be on the Electoral College map this evening when the polls close. Most of us have heard someone say something along the lines of “I live in New York (or California, or Texas, or _____). My vote doesn’t matter anyway,” but as was quite evident to me this morning, people still turn out in droves to vote.
Especially in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, seeing so many New Yorkers taking time away from family and work to fulfill their civic duty, waiting in a line that stretched up several flights of stairs, down a hall, and through an auditorium, I felt particularly inspired by my fellow citizens. With my ballot submitted and the machine displaying a “Thank You for Voting” message, I walked away from my election site relatively satisfied with myself as a citizen, proud to be an American, and more than a little excited to watch the evening’s election coverage (granted, with a degree in Political Science, I may nerd out about Election Day more than some, but I do believe that these sentiments are felt in some degree by most voters).
Yes, our elected officials have the daunting task of providing solutions to problems that may seem unsolvable, but with increasingly educated voters turning out in greater numbers than ever before, who can say that a little optimism isn’t warranted?
