Wow!

Amazing all the people who voted in Iraq yesterday. How amazing. I can't imagine. I'm not so sure were I living there that I would have braved the threats and gone out and voted, but they did! And they showed off their ink stained finger with pride. And they danced and they cheered and more importantly, they told the insurgents that democracy is stronger than that.
It is just amazing ... to think of all the people who lost their lives or were wounded or injured to make that happen ... it was not in vain.
It is just amazing ... this is a day so many of these people will not forget .. they will tell their children, their grandchildren. They were truly brave to go out with all the threats made. But they wanted their voices heard. Their freedom was more important than threats made. They weren't going to cower in their homes, afraid to stand up for the freedom they deserved. My guess is that they had had enough of that while Saddam ruled them.

It seems in America, the ability to vote is taken for granted. It is something we get when we turn 18. It's easy to become a voter in most states. It's something to do, or not do if plans for the day or more important or more fun or you don't want to drag the kids out, or it's raining or whatever. But I think what we fail to remember is that voting is a right that so many people all over the world are denied. That we get to vote today because years ago, a group of people rose up against the British Empire and won! And then came up with a plan to lead this country forward. A plan that many around the globe doubted would last. And yet, it is still in effect today. The Constitution is still the very heart of our life in America ... even today we are still trying to decide what is or isn't constitutional. And I think we take it for granted. We are so used to having this way of life. For most of us, our parents had it, our grandparents had it, and for a lot the great grandparents had it to. So it's just part of life for us. Just part of the daily ho-hum.

But yesterday, for millions in Iraq, it was so much bigger. So much grander. So near and dear to their heart. A dream come true. A dream most of them thought was not possible until just recently.

And it was amazing to watch it. To see the images on the television. To hear the laughing and the cheering and the singing. Or to hear the reports about the 35 that perished while trying to vote for the first time in their life. And it was heartbreaking to learn of the loss. To know that families are grieving and mourning today -- all because people wanted to vote. But the spirit of the strong, of those that risked their life to vote, and those that lost their life doing it, that spirit shall carry them through the hard times. And maybe a few more Americans will wake up and realize just how lucky we are here. And maybe that spirit will spread to other parts of the world.
It is just truly amazing to me and something I shall not forget ...