"And the kindly earth shall slumber. . .”

So I did go to vote on Tuesday. What a circus! Michelle and I go to vote and bring the children so they could see what “freedom” looks like. Well no, they’re just too young to stay home alone. We arrive at oh, say 1830 to find a line of scores of self-deceived folk, each one waiting for his turn at the black box. Forty minutes later, the line has barely moved when a kindly old man feebly explains (or did a feeble old man kindly explain?) the situation by informing us that over half of the machines are broken. Hey, if you’re impatient, just give me your sample ballots filled out and I will put them aside to be counted in due time. As my wife says, “Yeah right.” But then, many did so. And who’s to say anyway? It’s late and the electoral workers are grumpy and tired. But the black boxes never get tired. They just up and quit. And our precious so-called democracy reduces to a shambles. We wait there all night like lemmings in line for an amusement park ride, only without the expectation of the adrenaline rush to come. In fact, we don’t even hope. We expect disappointment and we pay much more for the privilege.

We walked away a little after 2000, wondering what we just accomplished. Should I not be so cynical? Perhaps someone will tell me why not.