Just a few minutes ago the voting was over in Florida. Millions have done what Hannah, Lauren and I did just a few minutes after 7:00am this morning. We were the 17th, 18th, and 19th voters in our precinct. Fitting that Hannah, being 18 was the 18th voter on this her first experience as a voter.
As I drove to work a few minutes later, I wondered where and when was the first time a group of people, sitting round a campfire, outside a cave entrance maybe or a mud hut or bamboo lean-to decided to decide by voting. Who is the person who first said "Why don't we take a vote?"
There are places where people don't vote because they may get shot on the way home, or don’t vote because there is no opportunity or don’t vote because they don't care.
But having everyone do what more than half want to do is a bedrock concept to our culture, has been for a long time, both as a society and in our individual experience. Letting the majority decide seems almost a righteous edict. Letting a few tell the lot what to do is simply not fair in our thinking.
So this morning, I participated by stating my choice and win or lose I will abide by the decision of the majority. That’s hard sometimes when the vote is close and really hard when the result not trusted. Election supervisors are the servers at the alter of the poll, and we have to have faith that they are pure and honest and have the integrity of the process as their highest calling. Otherwise the whole thing crumbles.
CNN has called Florida for Clinton which means I did not win, but all in all, the process works. I voted.