it's too important.

as one who's never really been uncomfortable with the spotlight, i'm going to have to say that tomorrow makes me a little nervous. tomorrow, the whole world is going to look to this corner of the globe to see if we're going to prove our mettle and vote the chimpanzee out of office. or vote at all.

i continue to find it no less than ludicrous that for a country so full of people hell bent on shoving democracy down the throats of every person on the globe, we still have an appallingly low voter turnout. who the fuck are we to foist our political system on others when we can't be trusted to use it ourselves? how dare we proseletyze about the merits of our system when we don't make the system work for us? you do no good for the ones who have been silenced by muting your own voice.

vote.

in my opinion, if you don't vote*, you need to shut the fuck up. you don't get to complain about how much you hate the government. you don't get to say how great the government is, how everyone should have one just like it. you don't get to say a damn thing. you want to yell and scream and shout to the rafters? put your money where your mouth is and take ten minutes out of your life to DO SOMETHING. vote. tell the world that you love democracy. tell the world that you hate dubya. tell the world that we're not all a bunch of fascistic, right wing freaks. or tell the world that you are, if that's what you genuinely feel is right. (i won't agree, but i support you declaring it). just do it.
vote.

as i said in july, people died for this democracy. people are still dying for this democracy. the very least you can do to honor their memories and their sacrifices is to exercise the rights they died to win for you. vote. stand up and be counted. set an example. do the right thing. change the world. don't ever think that your vote doesn't count, because it does, it really does. even if you're the lone dissenter in a partisan state, your vote counts. your vote keeps the system honest (and god knows, we need all the help we can get in that department), it keeps the system alive.

the fate of this country rests on your vote. it rests on every vote. every. single. vote. ten minutes of your time can change the fate of the world.

vote.

it means everything.

*this tirade, of course, does not apply to non-citizens and other people who i'm sure would give their eyeteeth to have a say in this election--i'm only speaking to american citizens with full voting rights.