3 Days till 30- 2004

It was the morning of November 3rd and I was crying. John Kerry had lost the election. I was working in Florida doing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (it was the first time I had voted with an absentee ballot). The owners of the theatre I worked for were contributors to the Democratic party and I had been invited to see John Edwards speak that summer at a breakfast fundraiser for John Kerry (Kerry was the obvious Democratic nominee, but before John Edwards was chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate) and then later I saw Edwards as the official VP candidate at a big rally in Ft Myers. I also worked for the campaign a few times on my day off. I had participated for the first time at a level beyond just voting and sharing my opinion. It was crushing to know that morning that George W. Bush would be the president for another 4 years. Honestly, I was in shock. I sat out on the porch of the cast apartment with Leann (who was playing Millie in the show) and I just couldn't stop crying. Really, I was disappointed that it wasn't obvious to more people that we were on the wrong path. I firmly believe that no matter what party you are in, you really do want what you believe to be the best for the country. I can't fault anyone for that, but I couldn't understand how so many people chose George Bush. And more importantly I couldn't understand how people chose not to vote (just under 40% of eligible population)at a time when our soldiers were dying in a foreign country. We were at war and often the only voice we have is our vote. To borrow the mantra of the 1980's fight against AIDS,

Silence= Death

US fatalities since November 2004= 2741

How can you chose not to vote no matter which party you vote for?

That's why I was crying that morning, I lost some of my faith in my fellow Americans.