I worked a 14-hour day at our local precinct here in Seabrook on Election Day. It was a good experience, it was a VERY long day, and it was a lot of damn work…for no pay, I might add. Still and all, it was worth it, and I’d do it again. My experience was a fair bit different than the author of this piece, but we were each contributing in our own way.
What I find truly amazing is that the democratic process WORKS. No, it’s not perfect. There are flaws- it is after all, a system designed and administered by fallible human beings. All things considered, the process works beautifully. After having spent 14 hours at our tiny little precinct, I am left with a newfound respect for democracy. We may not all think or vote the same way, and our candidate(s) may not always win, but 115 million people voted nationwide with no violence and no demonstrable instances of fraud. How many other countries would be able to say that?
No, democracy ain’t always pretty, but here in the US it works, and we should be proud of that. It’s not perfect, but it does what we need it to do. I was proud to be a small part of helping the process work.
