Get out and vote
Editor's Note: You can read more Jami Floyd blogs on “In Session”
Jami Floyd
AC360° Contributor
In Session Anchor
The lines are long this election day and it is a glorious thing. Because there is no right more sacred in a democracy than the right to vote.
And for years we have taken that precious right for granted. Too many black folks have taken it for granted despite the heroes who gave their lives to give us the right to be counted as full citizens, empowered with this right to choose. For too long women have stayed home on Election Day despite our brave foremothers who so bravely stood for the right of their daughters and granddaughters to have the same choice as men. For too long the working poor have not appreciated the power we have to change our circumstances by casting a ballot.
But not today. Not anymore. Because after eight long years, set in motion by an election in 2000 that was stolen, not won, after six years of war with the wrong enemy and 4,189 soldiers lost and $700 billion later on the heels of a failed economic policy that led to the biggest bail out in U.S. history, Americans are waking up to a new day today. Election Day.
So make sure you are a part of it. Make sure your voice is heard. Don’t take anything for granted. And get out and vote.
Editors note: See more of Jami's posts at the In Session Blog
|
|
Filed under: 2008 Election • In Session • Jami Floyd • Voting |
About this Show:
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
Subscribe to the podcast
On Twitter
Search the AC360 blog
I didn't receive my absentee ballot until MONDAY NIGHT in Las Vegas!
But not to fret, I volunteered with Camp Obama to canvas the neighborhood for a few hours.
When I got back to the place I am staying....Voila...It had arrived.
I immediately called the guy who recruited me and asked if it could catch a ride back to Los Angeles with one of the volunteers that was headed out that night.
It made it to my Mom's house and she was able to drop it off at the polling place IN TIME!
Cool you think?
Let's just hope that the counts are honest.
By the size of Obama's crowds and positive comments far outweighing McCain's in this campaign, it looks like he will win by a wide margin.
If Obama doesn't win, I certainly hope he investigates the integrity of the polls and the counts. Republicans have cheated and lied before, and got away with stealing billions of dollars from the American citizens. Being dishonest at polls is probably not beneath them.
Obama, our hearts are with you. We pray you will be the next President of the United States, for all our sakes.
Sounds to me like you didn’t vote in 2000 or 2004 not to mention neither election determined whether or not 911 would happen, the main reason why we went to war
I know obama will win
today is going to be a
big night i hope people
ready i have voted and you should vote.
Amen! I have never missed a presidential election since I was old enough to vote. But today, standing in line for almost an hour, was the best voting day so far! People were proud and happy to see so many of their neighbors voting today! I am happy, nervous, and hoping that this election isn't stolen from us either! I think Obama will make a great president. I'm also nervous about California Prop. 8, which will take away the rights for gays to marry. I think of the wonderful, smart, good people I know who are gay and can't imagine how people could insult them with their bigotry. It will break my heart if Obama doesn't win and if the bigots win their fight against gay marriage.
The lines at my polling place were very long. (I live in a Black neighborhood) and I waited for an hour and a half just to cast my ballot. I saw people there that said they hadn't voted in years. One guy told my uncle that he had been registered for 40 years and today is the FIRST time he's going to vote. That's deep.
amazingly well said. i actually printed your comments to remind myself the purported inconveniences of voting are far outweighed by the impact of being silent...the impact of voluntarily abdicating my responsibility to be an active part of solutions
oh give me a break Jami. your lament about the 2000 election could be compared to the sporting playoff game your team would have won if not for those bad calls by the ref. last year right? even beer bellied sporting fans all over the nation are not that shameless. let it go. spare me the nostalgic look at how your heart was broken almost a decade ago. its like those gals who can't move on after a bad relationship. my heart breaks over issues facing the world TODAY like lives being overlooked. it is wise to think of a future generation that has been lost because of abortion. since you are so concerned with the lives of our men overseas, thought maybe you would have a heart for the babies as well. am i religious? no. do i have a heart that contains some small remains of moral fabric? yes. you can play blame games easily enough, but try to focus on the real issues please.
It never seizes to amaze me that those events you spoke of; the Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights all happened not so long ago. Yet as a society we seem to have forgotten of these lost times where people weren't allowed to vote and or intimidated (racial intimidation) to vote in fear for their lives...
But i couldn't agree with you anymore...today is a new day! Today the world stands at the edge of its seat to find out whether this country will continue to struggle or if we will finally move in the right direction.
I couldn't be more happy with how Sen. Barack Obama and his staff ran this campaign...I've heard some people say that he overkilled it (campaign). I say leave no doubt.
Thanks.
This is a pivotal moment in history. We all are given the opportunity to be a part of something great. By not voting we are throwing away everything many of our ancestors fought for. Many people are standing in line; getting discouraged and leaving. DON'T GET OUT OF LINE, until you cast your ballot for OBAMA! Don't get discourage this is the time to have courage and display determination.
GET OUT AND VOTE.
Odd that people in FL are getting calls telling people that if they are for “Obama” they vote on Tuesday and if they are for McCain they vote on Wednesday… that is how this man wants to become the president???
Right on! Everyone needs to get out and vote-
Even if the lines are long... Please Vote!!
I would argue that the right to free speech is more important than the right to vote, on grounds that the former has historically had significantly more impact than the latter, and can be argued as having led to the latter in terms of suffrage and racial equality and etc.
Which is not to diminish the importance of the vote; just to remind us that this is not the only time our voices matter.
I am scared if Obama wins. He will tax me. My friend thought Obama was from arizona and she just move from their 4 months ago. She likes Obama but she doen't know a thing about him. Mccain is from Arizona.
One of the best truth I heard in long time. People may not realize but this is the truth and now it will become history.
I was listening in my car the other night to interviews on NPR with elderly African Americans. They were asked how they would feel if Barack Obama was elected president. Most said they would hug someone or cry. One elderly man answered this way...
Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Barack could run.
Barack ran so our children could fly.
My eyes filled with tears and I almost had to pull the car over to the side.
Very well put.