Today is a very significant day for me on a number of levels. Any election day is significant because of the impact that I (as an individual voter) can have. Today, however, was even more significant because for the first time since losing my usable vision, I voted totally free of any major assistance to mark my ballot! Thanks to the work of the National Federation of the Blind (www.nfb.org) I (and other blind voters) had access to voting independently thanks to an electronic voting machine that allowed us to mark our ballots for ourselves. It was a feeling of freedom unlike any I can describe.
When I say this, I mean no ill will towards anyone who has helped me or another blind person vote. It's just that, for us as human beings, there is nothing like taking that definitive action of marking the ballots for ourselves, and we may not even realize just how deep that feeling runs until we've done it...until we've used these voting machines and done the actual deed.
As the song used for the theme for Sean Hannity's show says, "Today is independence day!"
Alan Wheeler
awheeler@neb.rr.com or alan_wheeler@neb.rr.com
redwheel1 on skype
http://alan-wheeler.blogspot.com/
“Tell the people the truth and the country will be free”
--Abraham Lincoln
