America is the home of the free and the land of the brave!

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington

I have never been more prouder of being an American as I am watching the political debates and asking these representatives to justify to me why they deserve to be re-elected.  Their promotion into the next term depends on whether they have successfully persuaded me to vote for them.  As a voter I will look at their track record of what they had done in their previous terms, or I will check the validity of what they accomplished by checking the facts.

At last nights debates I pictured the rest of the world watching these very same debates and actually envying our political process. Who could ever forget those images when Iraque held their first democratic election and how citizens of this country proudly held up their ink stained fingers as evidence they chose to risk their lives by being killed on their way to the polls just for voting in the first democratic election on this once enslaved country?

The America I grew up in encourages all citizens to vote regardless of ethnicity, disability, economic status, or gender. As a election judge I can testify that there is nothing more proud than to witness a new voter voting for the very first time.  To watch them come out from the booth with their completed ballot with the biggest smile on their face makes the long hours of monitoring the election worthwhile. In their moment of their excitement we often have to remind them that who they voted for is for only them to know.

America will always be the destination for the weary, the tired, and the afflicted from other lands.  People who would not have a chance of surviving in other countries have come to America where their fortunes had been found.  There is no other place on earth for those who are disabled because only in America do people succeed just on the basis of sheer grit, determination and hard work.

America has one of the greatest educational systems in the world that is also the envy of the world. There is no other place that has the variety higher learning institutions that fits every individual need of those attending those institutions. Not even England which has a sordid tradition of only rewarding higher education to those who score high enough in required exams comes close to having the depth and variety of our learning institutions

America is worth fighting for and it is worth traveling to the polls on election day November 6th and quietly casting your vote for those you want to represent you over the course of the next several years.  November 6th will be your time to hold up your completed ballot much like the citizens of new democracies hold up their ink stained hands. I know I will.