Represent Yourself!

"Everyone knows that politicians in Illinois are corrupt." a friend of mine from Florida once dismissively said to me with a sigh.  My heart skipped a beat, and I felt a fist clench inside of me in anger at those words because I do not believe that is true.  I know it is hard to trust after having been burned by such a bumbling boy as Blogojevitch, but like a bad break-up, it is time for Illinois voters to move on. 

While I know that every decision I have made in life has not been 100% perfect, it is good to know I am in such good company with others in the state of Illinois who vote. Regardless, I continue to take a chance, suit up, show up and cast my ballot.It was not always that way.  When I was an undergraduate student who had earned the right to vote, I decided who I liked the best in the election, then went to a party.  I did not vote until my son, Vincent, was born. I finally thought I had best take an active role in shaping the society he was born into.

I believe it is my right, and my responsibility, to make a difference in the world for the better through my actions, therefore I have worked very hard as a poet and a playwright to shape the world into an ideal one where all people are accepted as one people: with transparent souls and open hearts.  I have worked to create a multi-cultural world of positive attitudes, where there is no child abuse or violence.  As a result of that work, I have been named an Outstanding Leader in Peace (the Peace Museum, 1994), earned a Certificate of Leadership in Racial Justice (The YWCA in DuPage County, 1994), was named one of the 100 Women Making a Difference in Chicago (by Today's Chicago Woman Foundation, 1998) and earned the Jane Addams Scholarship to attend NEIU in 2008.

This responsibility to impact the world for the better includes my vote.There are as many ways to research an official running for office as there are Google hits for Gandhi, (26,300,000 versus Blagojevich's 3,000,000) but personally, I like to compare what the "Chicago Sun Times," the Illinois Education Association, the Chicago Tribune, the League of Women Voters and the Bull of Kitty HaHa recommend. (just checking to see if you are paying attention). To say I voted for Bill Clinton and Obama is one thing, to suggest I voted for Rod Blagojevich is another. I researched my candidates, drew a conclusion that was right for me, walked over to my local polling place and cast my vote.  This might seem a simple thing to do, but to many people the right to vote is so taken for granted that they do not bother.  Yes, the election will go on without you, but it is essential for every vote to count, and we cannot do that equitably without voters.  Only you know what is in your own best interests. Represent yourselves, NEIU!