VOTE VOTE VOTE

Last night Emily and I filled out our absentee ballots. Today she'll drop them in the mail and our civic duty is fulfilled. We're sending ours a few weeks early simply because I didn't want to wait until the last minute and risk the ballots arriving late. I have voted in most local and state and all but one Federal elections since I turned 18. My first voting experience was in May of 1987 in the Republican Primary, in which I supported Bob Dole over George Bush. This reminds me of a Bob Dylan song, "My Back Pages": Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

This is a friendly reminder to anyone out there who may still debate on whether it's worth voting: it's not just a privilege, it's a responsibility. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain about the government - at all. Either participate, or keep your trap shut.

A few years ago, I heard a story on NPR about the American Institute of Graphic Arts get out the vote poster competition. The members came up with some very cool illustrations. Here's my favorite: