my first day open, a late 20's young man rushes into my shop to welcome me back & tell me he voted. i said, of course you voted. he said, no, didn't i remember, he was the one who wasn't going to vote but i talked to him about the importance of having a voice in our country and about how if he didn't vote then he's really voting for whomever wins & did he want to take the chance that bush might win with his compliance? and so he decided to vote, and vote for kerry.
practically on his heels, another man, older & white this time, ambles up the steps to tell me in that same expectant tone that he voted for kerry. Great, i said - these guys don't realize i'm over 50, travel more than i'm home, and talk with as many folks as i can. i'm the one that was going to vote for bush until you told me the truth about iraq and this war. i looked on the internet and found out what you were saying was true so i voted for kerry.
these two men were the only ones i talked with who were excited about voting and the election. they both bemoaned the fact that bush cheated & stole the election again this time but they were both so elated that they had voted, and voted their hearts! everyone else who wandered into my shop were so thoroughly depressed and despondent.
i feel again, like we lost twice - like nader was right - we lost kerry whom we really didn't choose from the beginning but whom we found reasons to support as the election grew closer & closer; and we lost the candidate we REALLY wanted to win. we had an AWESOME grassroots movement happening - how empowering it was and how mega empowering it would have been if we could have supported our own candidate to victory, or at least toward victory.