Nine days and counting.

Well, the time for change is slowly approaching here in the United States. Only nine days until the election; I truly can't believe it. I know that many of you who read my blog probably disagree, but it has been a damn long eight years under the Bush regime. I can't believe that it is almost over. Really, I thought the time would never come.

I remember all the controversy around his first election in 2000. I was only 15 years old and through high school debate I had just started to care about politics. I could not believe the decision in Bush V. Gore; it was absurd in that it essentially declared that not every vote mattered. In a country that enjoys forcing democracy on other nations, it seemed ridiculous that we would not fight tooth and nail to secure democracy in our own. But, I thought, it was only four years.

And then September 11th happened and life in the United States was altered dramatically. Bush's approval rating soared and suddenly we were on the verge of war; first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq. How had things gone downhill so quickly?

And they continued downhill when in 2004, George Bush was reelected. Not that it mattered, but I took the "Proud to be an American, Ashamed of my government" button off my backpack. I know that I will hear it for this comment, but at the time, I was not proud to be an American. George Bush was not an effective president then, and that would not change over the next four years. I felt that American's had been duped by the GOP machine into believing that the fate of America in the war on terrorism rested in the hands of George Bush.

Well, four years later and we find out that the fate of America was in the hands of George Bush, only he had different plans for it than what American's expected. That is to say, he had no plans; or atleast no plans that he was able to put into action. Four years later and we are still in Iraq, with the Iraqi government and military not much closer to being able to maintain their sovereignty than they were in 2004. Sure, the troop surge was "effective" in that it decreased violence in Iraq, but it did not help prepare Iraqi officials to take their country from the hands of the American government and military, as it was supposed to do. Four years later and we are still in Afghanistan; our education system is still not competing with those of other developed nations; our economy is struggling and through every missed car payment, through every foreclosed home and lost job, middle class Americans are feeling hopeless. It is hard to put faith in a government that continuously lets you down.

But the time has come here in 2008 in which Americans no longer have to feel hopeless. We have an opportunity for change and it is essential that we all take advantage of that opportunity. VOTE! I know that for some it seems pointless ( I know that feeling- I am a Utah democrat!) but you should vote just because you can. Just because you have the opportunity, the right, the ability to express your political opinions. I won't tell you who to vote for (but I hope you can feel the Obama/Biden vibes I'm sending your way ;) ) but I just want to encourage everyone to vote.

vote, Vote, VOTE! It makes your soul feel better, I promise.