Massachusetts Liberals

In case you missed www.kerryhatersforkerry.com and www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutImvotingforhimanyway.com, let me explain my position on the election. I want gay marraige, I want legal, accessible abortions and I don’t think we should send American teenage boys to fight and kill Middle Eastern teenage boys.But most importantly, I want a president who speaks in complete sentences and knows the meaning of the words he uses.

So on Tuesday, November 2nd, I left work early, picked up my voter-registration letter and after only getting a little bit lost, found the library where the residents of Castle Von Hoffmann were assigned to vote. I am a card-carrier for more than one local library, but I’d never seen this one. New England is full of these tiny libraries, a couple thousand volumes and a full-time staff of one. Picturesque and fun, but no place to park. When this happens, I am often reminded of a Michael Moore anecdote. The young Moore was on his way to class at his local community college but found his assigned lot full. He looked around for a parking space, and when he couldn’t find one, he drove home and told his parents he was dropping out of school.

There was a heckler outside the library who was telling people not to bother voting, that the last election was rigged and our votes don’t count anyway. I wondered why he didn’t have work or class or something better to do with his Tuesday. Then I wondered what happpened to me, that I saw a young man spending a day doing what he believes so strongly in and my first thought was so negative. Is this what getting bitter and cynical feels like? Is this how it starts? Will I soon be telling the anti-war protesters to get off the town common and get a job?

Of course, I have a classicist’s view on recent events. I imagine this is what Ovid and Virgil were thinking when Augustus became consul for the third or fourth consecutive time. Sometimes I hear Bush speak, and I imagine Augustus invoking Roman myth and the mos maiorum. But, I’m a classics student, so I miss out on a lot of modern events in favor of homework. When the Red Sox won the world series, I was studying archeology. As the state tallies came in last night, I was doing Latin verbs. This is said with total joy — when Bush stole his first election, I was pouring coffee for truckers. I am so happy to be be doing Latin verbs and archeology homework instead!

I did finish in time to watch Jon Stewart, the hero of all hip, smart twenty-somethings, with my roommate Kristine. Kristine and I are both graduating this spring, she wants to study swamp things and I’m more into dead Romans. On Monday, we discovered we are both considering grad schools in Florida, with an hour of each other! But on Tuesday, we discussed further education in Canada.

This morning Kerry conceded, before all the votes were tallied. Come on, Mr. Not-Bush, I drove in the dark AND parrallel parked for you!

I did find a neat little library, but I better check it out soon, before it loses funding and closes.