Women Can Vote in 2010 Elections. The Suffragettes Got it Right

When we did, a car whipped into the parking space next to us and almost clipped my car's front bumper. The expensive sporty car came into the parking space fast and low. Lucky for the driver the space on the other side was wide open.

The woman flung her car door open and pranced herself out of the car. As she reached for her Coach handbag she took a glancing sneer at my PT Cruiser. My temper simmered. I found myself hoping that her expensive high heeled shoe would get caught on the rug. I tried banishing the thought and almost made it. Almost.

One of the woman voters was older and her clothes were unkempt. Her hair wasn't tidy. The hand that gripped her cane was not manicured. I didn't see what car she got into but I doubt that it was fancy.

Another woman was in line beside me waiting to register. Several women were working the registration tables and women were in line for the polling booths.

I took in the scene and smiled. The people at the registration table probably thought I'd lost my mind. Certainly, Ms. Almost-hit-my-bumper thought so. With her high heels clipping the floor she turned away from registration and headed toward the voting booth.

The reason for my smile is simple.

My paternal grandmother was born in 1906. At that time women weren't allowed to vote. That wouldn't happen until the year 1920. The following year, my maternal grandmother would be born. We were two years behind Canada, eight years ahead of the United Kingdom and light years ahead of other parts of the world.

Growing up I heard women of my grandmothers' generation talking. "Women can vote? Sure. Vote the way your husband tells you to."

This notion was as foreign to me as being forced to wear skirts. Neither of these ideas have ever held appeal. During my lifetime it has always been that women can vote.

By the time my mom came of age the idea that women can vote was old hat. Mom's generation broke down barriers of race, began to hold meaningful (if underpaid) jobs outside the home and began to demand their say. I'm not sure that mom ever missed the opportunity to vote.

My generation is of women empowered. We are told that we can have it all. Women in my generation have meaningful jobs (still underpaid). We raise families, do volunteer work and are exhausted at the end of the day.

Exhausted, we drag ourselves to the polling booths because women can vote. We push the levers or mark our ballots and then head home to finish the day's chores.

Women can vote but we sometimes confuse the ability to have our say at the polls with the privilege of being able to say it. Suffragettes in the early 1900s worked hard so that women can vote.

When women vote we pay homage to those who paved the way before and us to the process itself. We may not like the outcome but we get to have our say. Our votes count.

I realized something while at the registration table that made me smile. Who wins the elections is very important to me but it is secondary to the fact that women can vote. No matter if we are rich, poor or able to properly park our cars what matters most is that we can have our say.

As we exited the polling booth I dug in my backpack for my cell phone. My daughter was in class nearby. I sent her a reminder to be a woman, go vote.

Source:
Personal Experience