I try not to offend anybody with my political beliefs. And I don’t really blog about politics. I’m not even sure why really. I used to on my myspace blog…but anyway, I’m rambling. From time to time I’ve contemplated if I would post posts that can be considered controversial…
Anywho…this isn’t a controversial post…this is just to inform, or to plead with anybody who comes across this post to take action.
I saw that and was like, how apropos is that! lol Because I can’t type out a novel in a facebook status and I’m even more limited by twitter, I wanted to do a quick post to kinda share my thoughts. To share why I am so passionate about voting.
I registered to vote when I was 17. I was so excited about voting in my very first election on my 18th birthday. My birthday usually falls on election day. My birthday is 11/03. Now I can’t recall if that first year it fell on the same day or if election day was a day after my birthday, but I do remember that it was a big deal to me that I was able to register at 17 and still vote that year. I remember going into the voting station and voting and how proud I felt that I for the very first time voted!!
Being a black woman, so many people fought for the right for me to vote. Women’s Suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement paved the way for that very important right. And yes I probably did shed a tear or two that first time I voted. I think ever since middle school when we were learning about the election process, we had our own classroom vote during the Bush/Clinton election and I remember that I voted for Clinton and he won! lol Something that was instilled with me at that young age has stayed with me, and I’ve always been into politics. I even used to want to be a Congresswoman or a Senator at one point. Shoulda dumped that boyfriend when he turned his nose up at the comment. But that’s another story. I don’t really see a political future for myself, but who knows, I could be like Nancy Pelosi and do it after my children are grown…never say never.
I have voted in every Presidential Election since I was 18. I’ve voted in most primary elections. No I haven’t always voted in midterm elections, but that will not be an issue ever again. I will always vote in any election. I think many of us learned that lesson two years ago.
In the last Presidential Election I was pregnant with Jordan. I wanted to be very involved but I had a crappy job and was very pregnant, so I just couldn’t be involved in the way that I wanted. But that didn’t stop me from doing my part. At the time I worked in a cell phone store and I made sure that I got everyone who worked in my store registered to vote, if they were not already. I took them with me to early vote. To me, I really felt like I was doing what we all should be doing. And it felt really good to get young voters out to the polls. And it’s my belief that when you take a few people to the well, that they will bring others too. Jordan has the special honor of being born on that very special day in 2008–the day that Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the USA and the first African-American President at that!
In 2008, young people, African-Americans, Latinos, Women…all of these demographical areas showed out in record numbers. Why? Because we care about the issues that are impacting us. We were used to being counted out by Washington. They didn’t expect us to vote. But they were proven wrong. So why not prove them wrong again? Why not push back when they try to push us back down? Why not stand up when you live in a state that is trying to block your right to vote? Voter Suppression is real. It’s sad but it’s real. Whatever state you reside in, you need to get the facts NOW and take action.
I’m not trying to type out a book or anything but I just want to make a few key points here ok. I’m not going to go into a bashing situation here. Not today anyway. But we all heard, read and saw the comments from Romney on the 47%. Let me share something with you…I’m the 47%. Hell, 90% of us are the 47%. According to Romney, his idea of the Middle Class is if you make $200,000. Excuse me??? Where they do that at??? Like for real? So what does that make me? Bottom of the barrel? What does that make the people who make less than me? A non-factor? No!!! That’s what he wants you to be is a non-factor. Even in general, from a political standpoint, they consider middle class to be if you make on avg $15/hr or around $40-50k a year. Well damn…that’s depressing as hell isn’t it? Especially for someone like me. I’m college educated. Married with children. Working full time. And guess what? I’m not middle class. I’m the 47%. I’m not on food stamps. I’m not on welfare. I don’t get any kind of government assistance. Do I need it? YES!! I don’t get help with daycare. Hell, I don’t even make little enough to get the Earned Income Tax Credit!!! Yet, I’m considered to be in poverty…and you want to penalize me by making me pay more taxes than those who make 10 times more than me?? Yeah I can’t make sense out of it either.
I guess bottom line if you fit into any of the following categories:
- you’re a woman and don’t want birth control to be taken away from you or even if you wouldn’t personally have an abortion, that it’s not up to you to make the choice for another woman because you don’t know her story
- you have a pre-existing condition, which many people do and you’re tired of being turned away for healthcare and get billed out the tail because of it
- you’re just out of college and can’t afford your own health insurance so it’s pretty cool that you can stay on your parents a tad longer until you get on your feet (doesn’t impact me, but thanks Obama bc I know what that’s like)
- you or anybody that you know has ever been unemployed
- you’re a single parent, you’re a working parent, you’re a parent!!
- you care about the education crisis in this country
- you care about jobs and I personally and I know millions of people have benefited from Obama saving the auto industry
- you’re a beneficiary of the Dream Act
- you support the Civil Rights of ALL Americans
and the list really could go on and on…but I will take pause here…if you fit into these categories… you need to vote. Not just for the President. But you need to take a few minutes and instead of browsing around on Pinterest or Facebook or whatever else that takes up your time…instead of watching Real Housewives of any city, Honey Boo Boo Child or whatever else that is sapping away one’s brain cells…stop and take an hour and find out who are the candidates running for the local and state level for you. If you only concern yourself with the National Political Race then you are selling yourself and your community short.
So now I will step down from this soap box and I hope that you took something of use out of this post… preferably a call to action!
Leave a Reply