I was 21 and one day, on November 4, 1980, the day of my first presidential election. The details of which are clouded, but the feelings are still quite clear. I was excited to walk those NYC streets to a school location, and stand in line with what felt like hundreds of people for my turn to be a part of something greater than myself, my father said, and what would be the first of many opportunities to exercise my right to vote.
Although disappointed at the outcome of that election, my father also explained that it is better to vote and lose than not to vote at all. Now, for those of you who knew my father, Ed Brown, you also know that he used more eloquent words… provided the history of the vote… for men and then women… the Vietnam War’s impact on lowering the voting age, the history of voting technology, and …
I will always have a place in my heart for Jimmy Carter. He was my first presidential election, but he was also a fine human being.
-MCP-
