Written by eastside93
I have a confession to make.
I did not vote for Barack Obama today.
I’ve openly supported Obama since March.Ā But I didn’t vote for him today.
I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods.Ā Ā He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL.Ā He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole.Ā He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem.Ā He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.
But I didn’t vote for Mr. Woods.
I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross.Ā She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003.Ā I was her first student.Ā She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program.Ā She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation.Ā Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.
But I didn’t vote for Ms. Cross.
I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr.Ā Jackson Senior wasĀ a Latin professor.Ā He has a gifted school namedĀ for him in my hometown.Ā Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years.Ā He has a heliport namedĀ for him at aĀ hospital in my hometown.Ā They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.
But I didn’t vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.
I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer.Ā She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members.Ā She was a strong-willed woman who earned theĀ grudging respect ofĀ the town’s leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got.Ā She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and hasĀ a community center named for her in Shreveport.
But I didn’t vote for Mrs.Ā Palmer.
I wanted to vote for these people, whoĀ did not live to see a day where a Black manĀ would appear on their ballots on a crisp NovemberĀ morning.
In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.Ā
So who did I vote for?
No one.
I didn’t vote.Ā Not for President, anyway.Ā
Oh, I went to the voting booth.Ā I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine.Ā Ā I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.
I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly.Ā But I didn’t vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.
When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for – and then decided to let him vote for me.Ā I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama’s name on the screen and touch it.
And so it came to pass that AlexanderĀ Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine.Ā But I didn’t cast it.Ā
Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and theĀ red “vote” button was the person I was really voting for all along.Ā
It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.Ā
So, no, I didn’t vote for Barack Obama.Ā I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants…even President.
You just don’t get it–McCain/Palin lost because of fear, hatred, circus campaign, bigotry, and “Joe the Plumber”.
On the other hand;
We stood, we watched, we hoped, we prayed, we believed as our Commander in Chief endured the hatred, the racism, the bigotry, and Joe the Plumber with grace. Obama/Biden led us with hope we led them to VICTORY (349)! God Bless America.
Great post. You had me going until the end!!!
You’re a great parent!!!
This was absolutely amazing. Had me nearly in tears, and I’ve shared it with folks all over the place. Beautifully stated.
Shhhhh! Don’t tell the the republicans this. They will spout off on fox for months about the voter fraud that had 5 year olds voting.
What a beautiful post. So encouraging. I really hope I am wrong about Obama and he proves to be a better president than our last 3. But man what a post.
wow.
speechless.
i agree with richard
Obama was handpicked by the Bilderberg group in June of 2008 in Chantilly, VA. He will create militarized Youth Groups and turn this country into a police state. Get your guns ready because it is about to get ugly. Of course McCain would have enforced the same agenda.
If you voted for Obama then you hate Jesus.
b_don don’t mess around with a perfect article like this..
indeed speechless…
this story should be in the newspaper on every doorstep, it won’t just give extra hope to those who need it. but it also will brighter the life’s of those who think there is no “extra” for them
thanks,
E
b_don how can I hate somebody that never existed?
Well, one thing Marxists are well aware of is… you have to brainwash them while they’re still young…
this is the touchy feely bullcrap that makes me vote republican…ur little obamaniac will be 9 when Obama finishes his first term and 13 if he gets a second…he’ll never pay the taxes for Obama to “spread the wealth”, his 401K won’t go to crap, he won’t have to worry about the “change” obama is going to shake loose from my pockets. But I mean good post…way to think it through. I’m sure when he’s 18 he’ll be glad you foisted your political views on him and duped him into voting for the first Bi-Racial Hawaiin Indonesian candidate who was raised by a white mother, white grandparents, and went to Harvard…I mean if anyone understands the black experience in America, surely a guy with a net worth of $7.5 million does…right? but um, yeah…historic night…maybe next time we can elect the first Chinese national to the presidency. I mean the Chinese were brutalized during the construction of the railroads in America so…we owe them too right?…Mao for Pres, 2012!
let me get this straight, you took your civil duty of voting and all the responsibility that your vote holds and you gave it to your five year old son, who, while i bet he can read, probably can’t conceptualize the issues relevant to this election…and you basically told him how to vote, thank you democracy!
and when baracks term is over and your son is nine, and barack has invaded afghanistan, possibly pakistan, and american’s are in further debt because barack will spending billions of tax payers dollars for programs that you could have supported yourself at a fraction of the cost (if you did it of your own volition for your neighbourhood) because it wouldn’t have to go to the government first, his health care will be no better, his education will be no better because there is no money for these things after all the debt (and the impending depression); how is he going to feel about his vote? you know what, he probably won’t care and why…because he’ll still be too young to fully conceptualize the responsibility that each vote carries, and that is why there’s a voting age. thank you democracy!
would you applaud a person who let their pet vote for them? and i mean no disrespect your son is most likely more brighter than dog/or a cat/or a parakeet but ask him why he voted for Barack Obama! just ask him. if his answer has anything to do with the economy or foreign policy then he made an informed decision, if it’s because “mommy told him to” well that’s slavery.
shame on me for raining on your parade. but your story is cheese. and it gets no love from me.
Does the author live in PA? We had a water and sewer improvements vote too.
@J
“duped him into voting for…”?! you do realise that it wasn’t actually the kids vote? and to hell with everyone else as long as you keep your spare change, right? because you don’t complain about the homeless always begging you for money, right? spreading the wealth wouldn’t make your country a whole lot better, right? healthcare for everyone is a really bad idea, right? 8 years of bush and you want more of the same?! the rest of the world are glad you were PROVEN to be in the minority this time.
well done america, thanks for doing the right thing!
To all the bigots who believe the limbaughs and palins – I feel so sorry for you. Not only are you ignorant, you are hopelessly unhappy.
The genes of john wilkes booth are in you – he didn’t get it either.
Thank you God for Barack Obama 2008/2012!!!
j i am only 16 but i agree with what u say and it actually made me laugh.
what are any of these president gonna do i mean im irish and dont live in america but i believe that presidents are mindless zombies that dont know no1 what theyre talking bout
no2 what the hell their doing
no3 how to help any country in need and they only listen to what the other mindless zombies have to say….
and b- don you cant say things like that yeah sure its your opinion and you have the right to express it but think before you post cos u could b hurting and offending ppl which is wrong …. god did say love thy neighbour and nowadays neighbour doesnt nacesserily mean ppl who live near or nxt 2 u ….
J
you are a dickhead
I was really upset when I started reading your article and I sure am glad I finished it! That is wonderful that you involved the 5 year old! Wonderful story!
J may be a dickhead, but at least he took 3 seconds to think coherently.
I don’t know why some people are having a problem with a 5 yo voting… If Polly the dead goldfish can cast a vote he should be able to also.
It doesn’t matter anyway, the senator is merely a tool who hasn’t had an original thought yet. Hillary was rejected because she wasn’t spineless enough. They needed someone who consistantly proved he had no opinion on anything (‘present’) and would mouth whatever words were placed in front of him.
And you American sheeple fell for it like the clones they knew you to be. You will get exactly what you asked for and deserve.
It will be interesting to hear the comments of all these people in 15 -20 years. Not just after election is a distant memory but the writers will be older and hopefully more mature. Too many people were looking only at the short term and not enough were looking at the long term effects of this election.
Voting is not only a right and privilege it is a responsibility. One that too few people take seriously. We have prostituted our responsibility in this most sacred and cherished process. We take for granted the freedom we have. People in other countries would give nearly anything to have the right, privilege and responsibilities we have in this country. Voter registration fraud has become so rampant that people donāt even care. It has become a game. It is no longer about a burning desire to make a difference, to make this country better for all who live here and those who want to live here. Is just about power and winning and losing.
I am all for making your kids a part of the process. They need to understand their role. They need to understand that they should exercise their rights, privileges and responsibilities and be involved with maintaining our freedoms. As far as the semantics game it is convenient for you. Should Obama be a great president then you can say with pride that your son voted for him. If Obama should turn out to be a bad president then you can absolve yourself of any responsibility because āyou didnāt vote for Obama.ā So instead of explaining to your son why YOU were voting for Obama and taking responsibility for your vote you told him to push the button and he did as he was told.
There are absolute truths in this world. One of them is that no man is perfect. Every President has made mistakes. Obama will make his. I pray to God that He will be with Obama and help him to make this a better country. I pray that for every President and government official. My fear is that he will pursue an agenda that is purely political in nature. We shall see.
And for those of you who I may have offended with my God ask yourself this, who is more irrational, the man who prays to a God he cannot see or the man who is offended by a God he doesnāt believe in.
Remember. How do you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving.
That was a great story. Sure, I’m 13 and can’t vote myself, so you probably don’t care what I’ve got to say anyways. But if Obama’s campaign election did anything, it certainly inspired kids all over the country to get involved in politics, whether they supported Obama or McCain. It sparked a nation’s interest in politics and promoted the optimistic message of change.
Obama has been described as an unreal figure, a name, a celebrity. But watching his speech live, seeing that yes, we can elect a black president, over a hundred years after blacks were given suffrage, and seeing firsthand how one person can have the power to change so many minds–I recognize that many of you were very much McCain supporters. But take Obama and the presidential election out of the picture, and think about the overlying message that anyone can do anything–that’s the concept that united the nation on Election Night. Red states, blue states, it’s all America.
Congratulations on getting your five-year-old involved. When I was five, I supported Bush because he had a cool name. I wish I’d known more about what was actually happening and the men behind the names at the time. It sounds like you’ve done just that.
Wow. This was a story meant to show that he involved his son in the voting process. Ted, you’re an idiot for thinking this story is to “absolve him of responsibility”. That’s the stupidest accusation I can even think of.
As far as J goes, the guy who said Obama being a black president isn’t significant because he isn’t, in short, black enough. This proves you are a fucking ignorant racist.
K, go conspiracy theory somewhere else.
barack obama is not the best choice. check out http://www.lp.org
Epic.
What a stupid person!
I think that’s technically election fraud.
I want a recount.
way to argue more than the canidates!
if this country begins to fall apart
its cause everyone is ripping it apart.
acceptance and tolerance are the most important
obsticles we need to overcome to
build a truely great country.
I’ve recently watched a movie called “John Q”. It was a touching and beautiful story of a man who had a son with a failing heart and needed a heart transplant but the father was unable to pay the enormous medical bill for it. If his son did not get the transplant, he would die if he wasn’t put right away on the “list” for the next available heart. He was 11 years old. I won’t tell the rest of it, I would give the ending away… All I will say is the father went to the extreme to get his son’s name on the list.
Even, though, despite the story, which I too also cried through while watching it, I am still against national health care and here’s why.
I don’t claim to be an expert, but trying to be as realistic.
Jo
(oops, sorry)
England and other nations which do have universal health care now finds themselves in a bit of a crisis. Many are now seeking medical care “out of the system” because the doctors either aren’t experienced enough or the wait for medical care is too long. Compared to the lines in the old Soviet Union used to be waiting for bread. That is what we may be facing in the long run.
And sure, everyone will be “covered”, but how good will the care be? The doctor depicted in the movie was clearly a selfish and greedy man, I personally felt that he shouldn’t have been a doctor at all… but then again, why would someone want to go through a zillion years of school, pay enormous fees in malpractice insurance and so on, and so on… if they get paid through the government? We may just wind up with inexperienced “wanna be’s” instead of reliable and experienced doctors.
And we will no longer be able to choose as freely as before, without going “out of the system”. So we will be stuck with what we got.
Anyway, this country DOES have a safety net called Charity Care for those who can’t afford or don’t have medical coverage.
I may be reaching a little too far out.. but
(sorry again, ‘puter keeps freezing, etc)
starting:
“I may be reaching a little too far out.. but” I’m just basing my opinion comparing to other nations which do have universal health care noticing their decline.
I can’t help but think if universal health care does come to pass, that the boy in the movie may get a transplant, but what kind of doctor will be doing the surgery… and I can’t help that the “list” of patients waiting for organs will be much, much longer than it is today.
This is racist smack.
In fact it goes beyond racist.
This joker conveniently forgets that the election is a complete fraud except when its a black guy.
I wonder if it was Husseins Israeli minder that came up with this?
So well written and it captures the hope so many of us have for our children and the future. My son did just as yours did. I wonder how many children actually voted for Barack Obama. I’ll bet the numbers are huge. Thanks for a great post!
Thank you eastside93 for giving me some faith in humanity again through your beautiful examples of beautiful people. I plan to print this and hang it above my desk so I can read it on a regular basis.
And thank you to all of the people who, in their own pathetic, attention-grubbing ways, tried to destroy that little faith in humanity.
Humans will always dissappoint me, I am sorry to say it.
Every night on my knees, I thank God that He never will.
I’m 17, and I was unable to vote, which was unfortunate for me, as this election truly consumed me. I would have voted Obama, simply for the fact that, whether it is his ideas or someone behind the curtain’s, they are ideas that I find to be in almost complete agreement with the principles OF THIS NATION. Too often people vote for themselves and themselves alone.
As for those who whine about losing money under Obama, I’m sorry that you had to feel that way as you turned off your thousand dollar big-screen tv’s and pounded your oiled and manicured hands against your expensive couch when you saw who won the election. I’m sure that some homeless man living within sight of the White House felt your pain too.
I have seen homeless people within sight of the White House, I have seen people dying in the streets of our nation’s capitol. If you truly care so much about keeping your precious money that you are offended when you are required by your government to give some of your excess to a man who is dying of thirst, then I truly pity you.
I’ll be praying for all of you tonight.
And back to the poster, thank you again. Thank you for showing me people who, despite opposition from people almost exactly the same as those who have replied so vehemently against the ideas in your post, chose to make the world a better place for EVERYONE, not just the rich.
Thank you for the hope.
Erika.
McCain/Palin lost because of fear, hatred, circus campaign, bigotry, and āJoe the Plumberā. ???????????????
Interesting choice of words and phrasing. Precisely like the emails I have been getting from the DNC and Obama campaign. Makes you sound like one of the “useful idiots” Lenin referred to (look it up).
I wonder if you could provide some specific examples of the McCain campaign creating fear, hatred, bigotry, as you have asserted. Betcha you can’t do it and just chose the words you have heard tossed around by Democrats and the campaign minions for their shock value.
If you would take an honest look around at the blogs and web sites that are talking about issues you will see that Democrats and Obaba supporters hold at least a 20 to 1 advantage in the use of the terminology you employed. Check around and you will see that profanity, vulgarity, and licentious verbage are almost the exclusive property of the liberals, which, incidentially, doesn’t do much for their cedibility.
BTW, in case you were wondering, I am not a Republican, I am a true Independent.
Fact : only 29% of Americans 18 and above cared enough for Obama to get out and vote for him in 2008 election.
Fact : That means 71% of Americans 18 and above didn’t cared enough for Obama to get out and vote for him in 2008 election.
Well written.. I am a republican who is disillusioned by both parties that have grown to big for their britches and for the people the are supposed to represent..
Anyway.. I enjoyed reading this.. but one thing to point out is that you did not give your son the vote.. you told your son which name to vote for and so cast your vote thru your son… I wonder what would have happened had you told you son to push any button and he had not voted for Obama… Would you have been dissapointed?
I didn’t vote for Obama but I was not really more impressed with the other choices either.. I do pray that Obama does what is best for the people of this country as he should! I support our president even if I don’t agree with some of the things he may do or has done..
As I did not always agree with some of the things that Clinton or Bush did in their terms.
But I did love the things you wrote about who you wanted to vote for.. It was touching and well put!
Thanks!
So you voted for President Nigger. Asshole.
It was absolutely incredible. Armed groups are set up for young people and make this country a police state.
Many are now seeking medical care “out of the system” because the doctors either aren't experienced enough or the wait for medical care is too long. Compared to the lines in the old Soviet Union used to be waiting for bread.
I didnāt vote for Obama but I was not really more impressed with the other choices either.. I do pray that Obama does what is best for the people of this country as he should!
Just wanted to say that I am eployed at a large biotherapeutic company in Clayton NC and I support Barack Obama with all my energy. I encourage all my friends and colleagues to say yes for Obama in 2012!! I LOVE YOU OBAMA