Short, Sweet, & To Da MuddaFuddin' Point.

I just spent an totally indefensible amount of time watching political news coverage, and capped it off with by tappping the vein with a little Jon Stewart.

I have to admit that I voted for the very first time in my life in 2004. Totally pathetic, I admit, but it was also the first time that I had paid any attention to politics, let alone educated myself enough to make a few informed decisions while punching my ballot card.

So all I really have to say at this point is this...

*Clears throat. Pulls out suspiciously new-looking soapbox. Climbs aboard. Ignores people giving weird "what the hell is that already unseemly tall woman doing standing an additional 18 inches above street level?" looks*

You, the teeming word-spinners of that fickle mistress "The Blogosphere". You are plugged in to the Nth degree, you check your email 30 times a day, and your blogroll has reached the point of total unfathomability. Hopefully? You also read at least a few news sites, because if you're technologically savvy enough to be on the razor's edge of the whole "Web 2.0" thing ... well, my friend, then you have absolutely no excuse not to be "up" on that whole 1776 "we the people" thing, either. You know, that whole idea that you have the right to a voice in your own destiny? Yeah, that thing.

Okay, I know you're thinking "but this whole process is screwed anyway, and the politicos make a mockery of the whole concept of the electoral process, and chances are those electronic voting machines are even less reliable than the local weather report...". And I totally agree with all of that.

But here's the thing. This is the only option we have. Whether or not the system is broken, whether or not you think mid-term elections are a waste of time, and even if (like me) you think your options seem somewhat akin to choosing between an electrode up the pooper vs. a sharp blow to the head with a bread board.... You. Must. Vote.

Because whether you know it or not, there are issues out there that you care about. And there are more issues to come in the next 4 years that you WILL care about. And what happens tomorrow will determine, in a very real way, what your life is going to be like over the next 3 years.

So when you wake up tomorrow morning, linger over your coffee. Take a few deep breaths, maybe surf the web a bit and find out what candidates are running in your district. Then go to your local polling place, and exercise your right as an American. Take ownership of your citizenship and cast your ballot.

Vote.

*steps carefully down from soapbox, catching clumsy foot on the corner and landing in a fleshy heap in the dirt*

"I mean to do that."