First Christian Church in Minneapolis was my polling place. The line of voters was so long that if everyone held hands, it could stretch around the globe and give the world a big, warm, American embrace! Wouldn't the world love that? Well, then, no hugs for you!
At 8:00a.m. the end of the line was still straight, just tailing out the door. Once inside, we voters made a quick left (well, not really quick--it took about 5 minutes to move 5 steps) into some kind of a reception room. I had flashbacks of 5th grade square dancing (and square it was) when I saw how a loop was formed, hugging the perimeter of the room. The church, I realized, had so kindly provided Bruegger's bagels, Bruegger's cream cheese, and church coffee in giant church percolators--it warmed my heathen heart.
The line continued through the corridors of the church--white walls, white doors, white flourescent lights, and a couple of white gay guys behind me, offering me chuckles during that two-hour wait to cast my vote.
Just before the line flowed into the great hall--which turned out to be more waiting, but amusement park, serpentine style--I noticed a religious magazine article on the bulletin board. Since I was standing around anyway, I read and summarized the piece: God made you a good Christian so you could vote Republican this year.
Suddenly feeling guilty about having eaten the good bagel of the good Christians, I asked the polling patrol if I could cast my vote for Kerry maybe in a Catholic church or a public school. Of course, I was denied, and ended up voting my conscience. ;-)
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2 comments:
I'm sad. Am I giving up too soon?
Molly says:
It's true! It's true! Voters wearing campaign buttons are asked to remove them or risk arrest, but the "moral issues" Bush used as a campaign slogan are plastered all over most voting sites. I met TWO woman in ten minutes who were undecided until the moment they got to the polls....they "prayed" for their answer.
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