Get out and vote!

I confess that this election, though I'm embarrassed to admit it, I have been a lot less enthusiastic or involved. The 2008 election seemed to generate it's own electricity, there was so much passion and fire for the future that it seemed as if the entire country was united under the shared ideal of Hope.

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After the election, reality set in and it became clear that there wasn't a magic button, all our nation's problems could not be solved in 4 years, especially with a government so divided and angry that it was actually actively trying to derail and prevent progress. Despite the bickering and problems in Washington, President Obama still managed to make wonderful progress; he passed health care reform, the stimulus, passed Wall Street reform, ended the Iraq war, killed Osama Bin Laden, saved the auto industry, repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell, signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed the Family Smoking Prevention act,  improved the student loan program, reversed Bush's policies on tortue and stem cell research and did countless other things I can't remember off the top of my head.

Obama may not have an instant fix button, but as a president I support and stand behind him and his vision for our country.

This election has progressed like a firecracker that's fizzed out, with a unhealthy dose of animosity and lying. I swing between angry and horrified that politicians are getting away with outright lies and deliberate misinformation, and I hope that the American people are smart enough to see the deception.

The fire and passion has died down, but it's even more important this election that we protect our fundamental rights that are in jeopardy: a woman's right to choose, the right to marry the person you love,  the right to affordable health care and a safe and effective school system for our children.

Whoever you support today, it's important to get out there and vote. The country can't move forward without the voices of her people, and you have the instigate the change you want to see in the world.

I voted for Obama because I have faith in what he's capable of doing for our country. I voted for a woman's right to choose, equal pay, the right to marry whoever you love, for FIMA, for science and the environment, for education and health care and another four years of progress.

Because I voted by mail and didn't get a sticker, here is Haji (recycled from 2008) telling you to get out and vote!