I take back everything I've ever said about bureaucrats.If you've been reading this blog a while, you may have noticed I'm an idealist. Of the pie-eyed don't-you-tell-me-it's-not -worth-trying-to-change-it kind.
I believe voting matters. At least, I believe it enough never to risk not doing it. Who wins the presidency of the United States matters a bit, had you noticed?
Following the primary elections back in the States from the comfort of this laptop, I've found myself cheering the turnout. Just the turnout. The voting, the caring, the believing by people who have never voted in a primary, or for the party they've turned out for this year, or at all, simply because they've just reached voting age.
And if you know me, you know I don't sit on the sidelines very well.
And so it was that late last weekend, I decided to find a way to vote in the Illinois primary. As a life long independent, I've never voted in the primaries. I quickly resigned myself to whatever problems temporary registration as a Democrat might cause my Republican political career and scribbled down the phone number of the Chicago Board of Elections.
I was late; I knew it was late both to register and to get a ballot back to Chicago by February 5.
I hadn't counted on the Chicago Board of Elections.
Monday morning bright and early in Chicago, my phone call was warmly and immediately transferred to a friendly young woman who had been assigned the task of dealing with the sudden onslaught of expats and US military folks scrambling to vote in the primaries. The Board had worked out a procedure that allowed me plenty of time to vote. Before hanging up, she took my name so she could make sure my information was received and processed. Within an hour, printable registration and ballot forms arrived in my inbox.
A few hours later, I was looking across the counter at a 38 euro FedEx bill in the local Mail Boxes Etc. Looking up from her price list, the sales girl warned me getting a ballot to Chicago by Election Day wouldn't be cheap.
"It'll be an awfully expensive vote...", she started.
"After Bush?", I interrupted.
She pushed the credit card slip across the counter.
"Sign here. Please."
Join me in three cheers for the Chicago Board of Elections! I may just order those folks a pizza. If you find my sudden passion for primaries intriguing, you'll enjoy hearing that the US Embassy forwarded an urgent message to US citizens abroad this week, when the State of Tennessee received a court's permission to extend primary voting deadlines for Americans living overseas.
That pie-eyed part of me? Couldn't be happier.
Don't tell me we don't care.
So what do you think, double pepperoni?
Yes españoles, you see correctly. The ballot and all of the accompanying paperwork was bilingual - English and yep, castellano. I voted in castellano, of course.
11 comments:
Your "Republican political career"??? Does that suggest you normally vote for/support Republicans? And that you voted for Bush in the last two elections?
BTW, there was no need to spend 38 Euros to send a ballot to Chicago. You could always have joined "Democrats Abroad" and voted on Super Tuesday with the worldwide ex-patriate delegation. I am sure there is a branch in Madrid. But then, that organization is only for Democrats.
Welcome anonymous. May I invite you to read the post again? ;) Somewhere before my obviously failed attempt at sarcasm (um, why would an independent voter hesitate to register this one time with a party by her name ... when might she regret it? Well, in that future (and never to happen) run for office as a Republican) I am sure I mentioned I am a lifelong Independent. Who didn't vote for Bush, and if you want to read a bit more than this one post, isn't exactly quiet about what she thinks about him. But all Republicans are not innately evil and I used to proudly vote for a fine Republican, in the state where I was born, Senator John Chafee, and then his son Lincoln Chafee. Honorable, independent thinking men, both of them. (Lincoln Chafee voted against the war in Iraq.) Have I lost you as a reader now,for those votes? ;)
Since I voted in the Democratic primary in IL, where you must register with the party to vote, Democrats Abroad might have worked. I am now a registered Democrat, obviously. Not that that means I wouldn't consider voting for the oddly unrepresentative honorable Republican, like the Chafees, if I were still voting for more than president. I have voted from Spain several times before, always directly with the Board of Elections, and so I called them and they told me this was my only hope.
And quite frankly, it was worth every dime.
So this was just this one American's way of doing what is important to her, voting.
That's good whether I do it by fedex or an organization, isn't it?
I get the feeling you're not only singing to, but beating up on the choir here. Maybe? ;)
You'll find my thoughts on Bush and being an American abroad in the American Abroad category. And yes, we'd love to have you post with a name. ;)
Thanks for the visit.
And oh, yeh..
YES WE CAN!
I think sarcasm is generally risky, particularly on a blog that crosses more than one culture. Okay, I now recognize that you are not a Bush supporter. That post caught my eye and I posted a comment. As far as I'm concerned, posts should stand alone --- I don't intend to sort through all previous posts just to put one in context. So if earlier posts ranted against Bush, that wasn't apparent.
I associate "big city corporate gig" with Republican, so choosing to identify yourself that way can raise some red flags. And I must admit that I don't understand the desure to maintain an "independent" status as a voter. I guess in Illinois you can't participate in primaries as an independent --- but if you really have no preference for who the candidates are, isn't that a bit like just refusing to vote altogether?
I don't know who "we" refers to --- when you say that "we'd love to have you post with a name." As far as I'm concerned, Anonymous is a fine name, associated with many outstanding works of literature! (Do you see any irony in the fact that you don't publish your name either?)
And if it REALLY bothers you to have anonymous, you can always change your blog settings...
Cheers,
Anonymous
Hmmm, sometimes I catch myself making assumptions, and I am always proved wrong. May I suggest a visit to San Francisco, Chicago, Boston or many other fine American cities to instantly cure ANY notion that big city corporate gig= Republican? Don't tell me, and Latinos won't vote for an African American right? ;) (Kidding there, another poor attempt at humor, but hey, it's my blog.
The name's all over the blog btw, Erin Patricia Corcoran and the blog will send you to my email which also includes my full name, and my real email, de siempre, same my mother uses. Google me and you'll be right back here.
I imagine my being independent doesn't make sense to you, yet do know I do it precisely because I care SO passionately about who I vote for. A political party's endorsement isn't enough for me.
You made me think, thanks again for commenting and for coming back.
Here's to defying assumptions, about Americans, and Republicans, and Independents, and expats and Democrats and bloggers and commenters and former vps!
e
Hi, Erin. I can't find your name anywhere on the blog, but perhaps the blog's appearance is different with Foxfire browsers? Neither your name nor an e-mail address appears in "View My Complete Profile." Or anywhere else on the pages I see, for that matter.
We clearly have different associations with the word "corporate." Yes, I have lived in some of the U.S. cities you mentioned. My experience is that if you are in academia in those cities, your colleagues are likely to vote for Democrats. But something strange happens to people as they move up the corporate ladder and assume positions of responsibility in corporations --- they start voting Republican. In general I think people vote for what they perceive to be their own financial interests, and people with money see the Republican Party as the one that protects their interests (or that protects the wealth that they PLAN to accumulate --- it is fascinating how many people who are NOT wealthy nevertheless identify with the upper economic classes!). The "corporate world" that I am most familiar with is the pharmaceutical industry and the banking/investment industry --- full of Republicans, no matter what city you are in.
For once, it will be interesting to watch the convention. Sadly, I think the Democrats are headed for self-destruction. In my opinion, the Clintons will not relinquish power easily, even at the cost of destroying the party. McCain just has to behave himself, control his temper and NOT select an ultra-rightwing evangelical as a running mate, and he could easily win in November if the Democrats screw up. It is going to get very, very dirty.
Anonymous
Hmm, I'm on Foxfire and I see corcoran.erin at gmail when I click on "E-mail" in your profile -- although I wouldn't blame anyone for deciding not to have his or her real name associated with a blog. Plenty of wackos out there.
As for sarcasm being "risky" I say this is your blog, you are you, write the way you want to. Who appointed Anonymous to the blog police? Por favor.
I, for one, delight in reading your posts which I find to be eloquent, insightful, joyful, earnest, and frequently humorous. And the idea that anyone with Irish heritage could/should lose the sarcasm -- well, it just isn't going to happen, is it? If we have to explain it, well, then it isn't funny anymore. So, I guess the "we" that Anon wonders about is Erin and those of us who read her on a regular basis. It doesn't bother me that someone posts as Anonymous, it just bothers me when people make factually incorrect statements and silly assumptions. Okay, I didn't come here to bag on Anon (but it's so tempting to go on -- particularly on topics like "anyone in corporate America MUST be a Republican" but I'll resist) I actually logged on to catch up on your posts. As always, I find them wonderful. It's been awhile since I've linked, and I need to find the button that will alert me when new posts are added.
You go Erin Corcoran!
What an odd response. My comment was "I think sarcasm is generally risky, particularly on a blog that crosses more than one culture." For this I am labeled the "blog police"???
I have to assume that my comment was interpreted as "DON'T use sarcasm in your posts" and that meant I was TELLING SOMEONE HOW TO WRITE THEIR POSTS and who the hell am I, a person too cowardly to post under his/her own name, to tell anyone, especially someone of a proud IRISH heritage, what to write on her own blog!!! (yeah, you Go, GIRL!!! RAH RAH RAH!!!)
Wait a minute. All I did was concede that I had misunderstood a post in which sarcasm was used, and I commented that in my opinion, sarcasm was generally risky on a blog that crosses more than one culture.
I am reminded of a book about communication between men and women that was published several years ago. The author described watching young children in a school playground. A little girl showed her doll to a little boy and said that the doll was sick. The boy replied something like "It's not my day to fix sick dolls." His response indicated that he had heard her comment (which might have just been a comment on the status of her doll's health) as a DEMAND that he DO something. Interesting.
Erin, did you really interpret my comment that sarcasm is risky as an order to cease and desist?
On the matter of politics, I have looked at my posts again and nowhere do I find the statement "anyone in corporate America MUST be a Republican." Those are not my words. All I said was that in my experience, in the corporate world that I am familiar with (which is the pharmaceutical industry and the financial industry), there are lots of Republicans, no matter what city you are in.
I wouldn't necessarily take that as stating that we disagree, simply that our experiences are different (as I also said in my post). Well, on second thought, perhaps I AM disagreeing with you somewhat, because I am challenging your (ever-so-slightly-patronizing) advice "May I suggest a visit to San Francisco, Chicago, Boston or many other fine American cities to instantly cure ANY notion that big city corporate gig= Republican?"
Does my disagreement constitute an ATTACK on Erin, so that her loyal readers rush to her defense by "bagging on" me (new term for me, but I get the gist)? How very odd, not the sort of response to encourage comments.
So with this, I bid farewell to all of you. I would correct my "factually incorrect statements" before departing, except that I can't find any. It is not factually incorrect to state what my experience is, even if that experience contrasts sharply with your experience. That doesn't make me either silly or a liar.
I DID find an e-mail link that I had not seen before, but I still don't see the name "Erin Patricia Corcoran" anywhere on the blog. Which is not to say that it's not there, I hasten to add before I am accused of libel, but just that I don't see it.
BTW, Ann in KC, the name is Anonymous, not Anon. We are not on such intimate terms for you to refer to me by nicknames.
Cheers,
Anonymous
Hey Anonymous,
I didn't come over after reading Ann's comment, and probably should have.
I know Ann, and you strike me as sincere, so I don't think any of the 3 of us mean to be attacking each other here.
We've wandered pretty far from the post you commented on, by now, too. I do appreciate your reading the post and commenting. And I'm with you - let's just consider this case closed.
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