Bear with me...I think this is going to end up being a long post. I hope you will get a nice glass of wine, find a soft chair, and read what I am about to write.
Jeanette voted today (Friday October 31, 2008) for the first time in her life.
Don't get me wrong. I cast my first presidential ballot in 1972. I voted for George McGovern along with several hundred other people around the United States. I voted for McGovern because I was sick of the Viet Nam War. It was a lousy war...our military men and women who fought there were gallant and brave....but the war stunk!
I next voted for Jimmy Carter because I thought he was a very good man. I still believe that he is a very good man...just a man in over his head as President of the United States.
I voted for all the Republican candidates for the next 20 years. I believe in a strong military and the right to become a success without being taxed to oblivion. I believe the private sector can handle every need, beyond the military, in a more efficient way than the government.
I used to remodel and build homes for the City of Houston Housing Rehabilitation Program. For every million dollars allocated to Houston by the federal government for helping people in need, 80+% of the money was used in administration costs. Less than $2.00 in $10.00 actually was used to build homes. Any private enterprise as inefficient as the United States government would go out of business.
I despise big government not because I disagree with the intentions for which tax money is spent. It is the horrible waste that it takes so much money to accomplish so little. So, I probably would be considered a fiscal conservative. Yet I have always been a social liberal.
I suppose I am a Libertarian (at least as it was initially envisioned). I want the government to protect me from violent people within and beyond our borders. I want them keep the roads safe. After that, I want the government to leave me the Hell alone. If I want to smoke pot in my home, leave me alone. If I smoke pot, get in my car, and kill someone because I was driving impaired....throw me under the jail.
When all of the smoke clears, I have felt there is not a dime's difference between either of the major parties. They both want power but then have no idea what to do with it when they get it. It is the job of the opposition party to make the party in power look bad and impede any progress. It is like a political football game: the offense (the party in power) tries to move forward and the defense (the party wanting to get the power back) does everything they can do to impede the offense's forward progress. We, the fans (citizens) watch this endless struggle and pay and pay and pay for the joy (?) of watching.
So why did Jeanette vote today instead of John?
A couple of weeks ago I was outted in a very public way by a couple of people wanting to do me as much financial harm and personal embarrassment as possible. So far their action has done nothing more than to help me open up and show publicly my inner self that I have kept hidden from all but the transgendered community and some wonderful friends that I have made over the last couple of years.
One of them went to a management company where I do a large amount of remodeling business and showed my pictures to anyone and everyone that would listen (and you can bet they were not my best pictures that I have skillfully photo edited to hide wrinkles and scars).
This same person barged into a meeting I was having with the president of the homeowner's association demanding that I be fired. My "friend" said they wanted me thrown off of the property and they had something to tell him about me. I turned to the president and said "I am a crossdresser and this person is trying to blackmail me". The president told the other person that he would speak to them privately later but now was not the time.
He turned to me when they left and said "I have known you were a crossdresser for over 10 years. You are honest, your work is good, your prices are fair, and you do what you say you are going to do. Business is business. I don't care what else you do".
I might still lose the contract that I have had at this community for about 6 years. If I do lose the contract, it will be because I am transgendered. And if I do, there is not one thing I can do about it. If I was fired because I was black, or disabled, or Jewish...I could sue and win in court because it is against the law to discriminate against these groups of people. Being transgendered, obviously not deserving the same rights as any other citizen of this country, my nature is enough for me to be terminated (In "terminated" I mean fired...not killed as some in the far right would like to define and execute "terminated").
This election, I allowed my inner self to come to the polling place. Jeanette did not worry about national security, the national debt, taxes, immigration, right wing, left wing, chicken wing, or anything else.
I voted for the party who MIGHT allow me to have the same rights and protections as any other American. I voted for enough Libertarians in minor positions or where there is going to be a landslide winner, to allow both parties to realize that I voted for the Libertarian because there was no box to check "None of the Above".
Political rhetoric abounds this time of year. My vote and yours probably won't make one bit of difference when the politician return to Washington. They will forget their promises and got back to the status quo. Almost all Republican candidates express that I do not deserve the same rights as a non-transgendered person. Most Democrats could care less about my plight but at least they are not vocal opponents.
This year I did not vote for what I think might be best for the entire country. This time I voted for what was best for me.
A wise friend of mine said once "I cannot vote for someone who would not vote for me". Neither could I.
Jeanette cast her first ever vote for Obama.
