| Food for Thought |
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WARNING: Contents under pressure. DO NOT OPEN IN AN INTELLECTUAL VACUUM. ~ A rubber stamp
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. ~Confucius
"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." ~Sarah Ban Breathnach
"I would not exchange the laughter of my heart for the fortunes of the multitudes." ~Khalil Gibran
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi
"How can we say there is peace when so many go hungry?" ~Oscar Arias Sanchez
"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson
"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infans. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. ~Omar N Bradley
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it." ~Margaret Fuller
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| Tuesday, November 08, 2005 |
| Polls Are Indeed a Battleground |
Never mind the duke-em-out, knock 'em-sock 'em and rah-rah ads; they are as nothing compared with the battles fought in the polling stations.
I did my civic duty and got up early to vote. On reaching the polling area, I found 3 women at a desk (let's call them woman #1, 2, and 3) and a voter. I came in at a point where women # 1 was telling #2 to look for the voter's name in their roll books, while #3 was telling the voter and #1 that the voter's name was not going to be found.
I'm guessing the voter had moved recently; there was a letter sent with the voter's name and the new polling location but the name wasn't anywhere in the books. So, #1 told #2 to try this and that section within the books, while #3 first questioned why the voter was there instead of the old polling place, then when told that the voter's letter clearly has the correct name and the location of the new polling place, insisted the name would not be found and told the voter to go back to the old voting place, because the voter was likely still in that site's books.
After a bit of discussion back and forth among the voter (who was very patient! and had a meeting to attend within an hour) and #1 and #3, with the voter saying the old location was a distance away, the subject of a paper ballot was brought up.
I believe #1 brought it up, but in any case, #3 wanted the voter to go to the old site concurrently harranguing #1, but did finally ask whether the voter wanted a paper ballot, with the response of yes, naturally. Then #3 huffed, made one of those sounds that signify indignation, and took a quick 360 step. Then repeated the question.
Well, it was clear to both the voter and me that a paper ballot was obviously going to be huge imposition and inconvenience (and therefore take forever to even be given to the voter), so the voter said never mind and that after work would have to do and at the old site. And left.
Good golly!
So, #3 continued to spew at #1; I wouldn't have been surprised to see a slap. Poor #2 was between the two women and looked embarrassed. She almost timidly asked for my info.
I tell you, that voter was a saint. Me, I would have said to give me the ballot, it's my right to vote, and that the polling areas are supposed to make it as uncomplicated as possible for me to do so, not give me the runaround, toss in some attitude, AND waste my time or give me grief.
But this is not the first time this type of thing has happened at this station. My mother and anecdotal tales of others have been treated very unpleasantly by the people "manning" these voting spots, anywhere from who to vote for and which party to register as... all of which is illegal, of course. You must also understand that these people are all volunteers, but why they think that this means they can go on a power trip is beyond me.
In any case, just thought I'd share. Voting is something that many people, men and women, fought for this country's citizens to be able to do. No matter where you live and what elections are going on, I encourage you all to seize the opportunity to vote. |
posted by Cheshire Cat @ 11/08/2005 11:19:00 pm   |
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