Posted by JumpyPants
Before school this morning, at 7:30, my 9-year old son and I went down to VFW Hall, our polling place, to vote. He came into the booth with me, I showed him how the machine worked, which levers to pull, and let him yank the big lever to register our vote for Barack Obama, along with our congressman, state assembly representative, and two county coroners.
I told him it's the most important election of my lifetime. Too soon to tell if that's true for him, but it's a pretty good bet.
Our VFW hall is less than a mile from the banks of the Hudson River. George Washington lodged nearby our polling place while fighting a war to guarantee us the right to vote. Not all of us, of course, not then. But in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't long ago that people fought and died so that others could vote, right where we live. It's important to me that my son understands that voting is a great privilege. And that voting for Barack Obama is an historic privilege. I was glad he got to pull that lever.