It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.

Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 - 1965)

Election day is over.  I won some.  I lost some. 

 

California Propostion 8 - Marriage is between one man and one woman - passed.  To my pleasant surprise.  Ben says, "O ye of little faith."

 

Prop 2 - Standards for Confining Farm Animals -  passed.  Again a pleasant surprise.  It may hurt the pocketbook, but cruelty is not justified by cents, dollars even.

 

I was disappointed that Prop 4 - Parent Notification Before Terminating Minor's Pregnancy - went down. 

 

We passed a few more bonds - more debt!!  Good causes, no doubt, but when will it end?

 

Everyone knows, of course that Obama won.  Resoundingly.  Both McCain and Obama gave speeches last night that gave me hope and reminded me how grateful and proud I am to be an American.  Isn't it wonderful that we can fight with words and not violence, that we vote, accept the will of the people,  and move on together regardless of  whether the outcome is what we would have chosen?! 

 

So now the election is over, but our job is not done.  Every few years, we rant and rave, wave signs, complain a lot and eventually vote.  Then we go back to business as usual. Which often  includes a good bit of complaining amongst ourselves.  I think however the business of citizenship is not confined to voting every election.  In between times, we need to communicate with our elected officials and tell them what we want and what we think.  If we want a representative democracy, we need to inform our representatives of the will of the people - preferably before they make the big decisions.