Democracy Needs Some Exercise

I worked the polls today for the local election. This meant spending 6a.m.-8:00p.m. in a church and checking to make sure people are authorized to vote before giving them a ballot. We, however, only had 45 people come to the polls, leaving a lot of empty time in the day to read Gödel, Escher, Bach, chat with other officials, take an interest in the surroundings, drink lots of free coffee, and of course, appreciate America at its finest. During election day. The time to exercise that well defended right to vote.

My chief judge, a women in her late 50s, folded her arms and looked out the window at the vacant parking lot "You know what really irritates me? That people don't come out to vote. People in other countries die for this." She looked like Clint Eastwood in any movie you care to name. Cars whizzed by on the road oblivious.

"Yeah" said Bill, my co-worker and former Vietnam veteran in the air-force. The kind of guy who saw people die to defend that very right. I think Tom my other co-worker would have also agreed, as he was in WWII, but he was too absorbed with trying to get the laptop to work.

"Would you like some hot apple cider?" One of my co-workers offered. I have to admit I was tempted. It was early, and ignoring my usual inclination not to drink sugar on an empty stomach I had this vision of some piece of authentic Americana. This quaint old lady who had grown up at a time when things were done properly. Hell, this cider was probably fresh from the apples in her garden.

My heart sank when she said it was sugar free, and there I was confronted with a envelope full of powdered apple cider. It was quintessential Americana alright. Everything that is right and wrong with this country all at once. I politely declined. In Frankfurt they pressed apple cider from fresh apples right on the street, and sold it. I didn't mention this fact, it always leads to awkwardness.

"You know what they say about retirement" Bill said, "You are too busy to do anything".
The chief judge laughed.
"Yeah" she said, then she walked over to me and gave me a pointed look "and if your're retired I am going to slap you".
I pursed my lips and looked down at the table. Clint Eastwood alright.

45 people came to vote. An old Italian couple who had the best accents, but had been here for 18 years. An 80 year old African American woman, and another who was 22 with two kids, and to top it all off, an Irish woman. It is the minorities and foreigners who take the most interest. Particularly in these small elections. And they deserve credit for it.