Saturday, January 29, 2005
Voting
As a child, I felt miserable when I realized how badly we treated some of our citizens, not allowing them to vote, and I was thrilled as that changed. I was also very upset about how hard-won that change turned out to be, and how recently all of us had earned the ability to become citizens. The good news is that we moved forward in the next decades, so much so that some young people don't know and are startled to hear what it was like.
I suppose the planet's every blogger and columnist (what, exactly, is the difference?) will write something on voting in the next few days because of the Iraq elections but it will be hard to find or write a more compelling and stirring piece than Kathleen Parker's. She begins by pointing out that "Like most Americans, I've never had to be brave to vote. I just show up at the polls, negotiate the ballot, grab an "I voted" sticker and drive home satisfied that the world will continue to turn on its axis in the usual way." She reminds us that it was "only after numerous acts of violence and, yes, terrorism against blacks that the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed."
With that in mind, Parker adds what could have been a platitude, although platitudes become familiar partly because they are so deeply true. She says that "Justice is not always swift, nor is the march to freedom easy. Democracy, as we seem to relearn each election season, is hard, messy work. So that witnessing the birth of democracy in Iraq, counting the painful contractions from afar, is both breathtaking and awesome." How right she is. Then she adds two paragraphs that say it all:
I suppose the planet's every blogger and columnist (what, exactly, is the difference?) will write something on voting in the next few days because of the Iraq elections but it will be hard to find or write a more compelling and stirring piece than Kathleen Parker's. She begins by pointing out that "Like most Americans, I've never had to be brave to vote. I just show up at the polls, negotiate the ballot, grab an "I voted" sticker and drive home satisfied that the world will continue to turn on its axis in the usual way." She reminds us that it was "only after numerous acts of violence and, yes, terrorism against blacks that the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed."
With that in mind, Parker adds what could have been a platitude, although platitudes become familiar partly because they are so deeply true. She says that "Justice is not always swift, nor is the march to freedom easy. Democracy, as we seem to relearn each election season, is hard, messy work. So that witnessing the birth of democracy in Iraq, counting the painful contractions from afar, is both breathtaking and awesome." How right she is. Then she adds two paragraphs that say it all:
"Whether or not one agrees with the war that brought Iraq to this point, no American can watch these proceedings without wonder and respect. We've been there. We've had our own revolutions and our own demons to pursue. More than anyone else on the planet, we should be cheering them on. I don't know how those Iraqi men and women, some of whom reportedly have sworn a last will and testament in preparation to vote, will make the trek from their homes to the polls. Just as I don't know how those marchers in Selma made it across the bridge with their heads split and their shirts bloody.... But they did. Here's hoping Iraqis will, too."Amen.
Labels: politics, reflections
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