On My Mind....

Setting aside the outcome of the election, I just hope everyone is able to set aside our differences for a moment to reflect on the fact that history has just been made, and in more ways that just the fact that a black man has finally been elected into the highest office in our country. More voters turned out for this election than any election in history. More people got involved, more people asked questions, more people voiced their opinions and their concerns on the issues than ever before in any moment in history! No matter who you cast your vote for, you should be damn proud to live in this country, and to be a part of this historical moment in our country! We were all a part of a moment that will forever be recorded in our history books! I don't know about you, but there's a certain excitment in knowing that I have not only witnessed this moment, but I actively took part in it!!

We, as a country, have made amazing leaps and bounds in civil rights movements, we have grown to be an amazing country, proving that we are still a proud civilization, and we are still a country full of people who cherish and will protect our individual rights that should be the basis for all human rights. The rights to express ourselves, to voice our opinion, and to be heard, and to make a difference have never been more prevalent than what I have witnessed first hand in the past 2 years!! I have heard many arguments, debates, challenges, and theories, mainly over the past few months as things really started to heat up. And despite the fact that I have mainly sat back and allowed myself to take it all in, to hear both sides of the argument, to weigh my options silently without agitating any emotions or hurting anyones feelings, I have taken into consideration every single point of view that has crossed my path, and weighed it carefully.

That being said, I am more that willing to say that yes, I voted for Obama. Quite frankly, it was one of the hardest choices I've made in my life, and I had to do a lot of digging to make my final decision, I was literally on the fence pretty much the whole time. It was such a tough choice, in fact, that standing in the little enclosure, I had to cast my vote for everything else first and come back to the President once those were cast. I had to lay my vote where I felt my priorites lay, and I feel that I followed not only my instincts, not only my heart, not only my mind, but most importantly, I followed my beliefs. I followed those things that were absolutely the most important issues I feel that I, as an indivual American, face in my day to day life!

First let me say how absolutely dissapointed I was in the McCain/Palin campaign and the lack of focus on family, the core center of our country. (First let me just say that I strongly feel that one of the biggest contributors to our society's decline is the lack of focus on core values and the principles behind what a family is REALLY about!) I was extremely disappointed with Senator McCain when I learned he voted down the Domestic Violence Protection Act. Going straight to McCain's own campaign website, I wasn't led to ANY information on his opinions or concerns for the women or children in this country, other than he wants to over-turn Roe vs. Wade. No stance on preventing child abuse, no stance on absent parents, no stance at all concerning the sickenly rapid rate of of violence and abuse towards women and children in this country. However, when you look over at the Obama/Biden side of the campaign trail, he clearly marks where he stands for family and how he plans to help Americans.

Such as:
Epanding the Family Medical Leave Act-Right now it only affect companies with 50 or more employees, they want to change that to cover companies with 25 or more employees, expand it so if an employee needs to leave to care for an elderly parents medical needs, it's covered. Allowing parents to take up to 24 hours a year to attend their childrens academic activities at school, expand it to cover employees who need to leave to address issues of domestic violence or sexual assault.

Expand Paid Sick Days-More than half of all private sector employees have NO paid sick leave. This is a major issue for those of us that simply cannot afford to miss a day of work, not to mention don't have health insurance, can't afford to see a medical provider, and run the risk of not only spreading disease and infection, but run the risk of making ourselves worse off. (I've had a serious sinus infection for over a month now, but I simply CANNOT miss anymore work, and I don't have health insurance because it's far too expensive with rediculously high deductibles, and I can't afford to go see a doctor, or even pay for the prescription!)

As far as taxes go, I could clearly discern what McCain's stance on taxes were and his own campaign website was not at all clear on where he stands. However, with Obama:

*Provide generous tax cuts for low- and middle-income seniors, homeowners, the uninsured, and families sending a child to college or looking to save and accumulate wealth.

*Cut taxes for 95 percent of workers and their families with a tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couples.

*Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses, cut corporate taxes for firms that invest and create jobs in the United States, and provide tax credits to reduce the cost of healthcare and to reward investments in innovation.

*Dramatically simplify taxes by consolidating existing tax credits, eliminating the need for millions of senior citizens to file tax forms, and enabling as many as 40 million middle-class Americans to do their own taxes in less than five minutes without an accountant.

*Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase. The typical middle class family will receive well over $1,000 in tax relief under the Obama plan, and will pay tax rates that are 20% lower than they faced under President Reagan. According to the Tax Policy Center, the Obama plan provides three times as much tax relief for middle class families as the McCain plan.

*Families making more than $250,000 will pay either the same or lower tax rates than they paid in the 1990s. Obama will ask the wealthiest 2% of families to give back a portion of the tax cuts they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility. But no family will pay higher tax rates than they would have paid in the 1990s. In fact, dividend rates would be 39 percent lower than what President Bush proposed in his 2001 tax cut.

*Obama’s plan will cut taxes overall, reducing revenues to below the levels that prevailed under Ronald Reagan (less than 18.2 percent of GDP). The Obama tax plan is a net tax cut – his tax relief for middle class families is larger than the revenue raised by his tax changes for families over $250,000. Coupled with his commitment to cut unnecessary spending, Obama will pay for this tax relief while bringing down the budget deficit.

Another very serious topic in my mind as well as my heart, having been a victim of it, is where my future president stands on domestic Violence. I couldn't find a single thing on the McCain campaign website concerning this very vital issue, but with Obama I found this:

*Approximately 1,400 women a year – four every day – die in the United States as a result of domestic violence. And 132,000 women report that they have been victims of a rape or attempted rape, and it is estimated that an even greater number have been raped, but do not report it. Senator Obama co-sponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Signed into law in January 2006, the bill funds and helps communities, nonprofit organizations, and police combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The legislation establishes a sexual assault services program and provides education grants to prevent domestic violence.

(Please remember that McCain voted down the Domestic Violence Protection Act, a decision that I absolutely CANNOT stand behind, for ANY reason!)



Quite frankly, whether you feel as though I've been "brain-washed" or not, I did my own homework, didn't listen to the media, because God knows how biased they can be, I went directly to the sources themselves, and compared what information they have put out there on THEIR OWN, compared what information they have broadcasted as their take on what the "real issues" were, I didn't listen to the gossip (I never was interested in that Kindergarden game of 'Telephone' anyway!), and as I've said, I've followed my heart, my mind, and my beliefs. I prayed, I studied, I watched, I listened, and I read. Then I made my decision. I did NOT base my decision off of a name, race, gender, ethnic background, or any of the other things I have heard come from people's mouths. Quite frankly, deciding to NOT vote for someone simply because of what their parents chose as their middle name, NOT voting for someone simply because of the color of their skin, NOT voting for someone simply because they do or do not have a vagina or penis, NOT voting for someone because of idle gossip about where they were supposedly born, who their parents are, what kind of school they went to as a child, or their religious beliefs is simply put: IGNORANT. On something such as a Presidential election, you, as a registered voter in the United States of America have an obligation to find out and dig for the truth in this media obsessed society, and stop allowing popular local opinion and mass media coverage be your single influence in something that is an honored right in this country that up until this election, not too many people really cared to take part in. (I registered to vote ON my 18th birthday!)

I can't say what any one person's motivation was for voting for whoever they voted for, but I can express mine. And simply put, my motivation was by far and above all else, my family.