Pay Attention to the Man Behind The Curtain:
A Reflection on the Voting Process
by Craig Cook

Well, I did it. I voted today. And it felt wonderful!

I woke up early this morning in my family home, about an hour train ride away from my apartment in NYC. I had taken the trip the night before in an effort to avoid the lines and confusion that I was sure would surround the voting process. The news stations this morning all had reports about tremendous ques, voter fraud, harsh attitudes, congestion. It was like the entire media was telling people “stay at home, it’s not worth the frustration.”

Having voted in the previous election via absentee ballot, this was to be the first time I would set foot in a polling place to cast my choice. Had I listened to the news media, I might have been intimidated. I may have not gone to the polling place for the first time for fear of the political process itself. It was a good thing that I decided long ago who and what I was voting for, and that I would vote no matter how long the lines were, how badgering the exit pollers were, and how unfamiliar I was with the mechanics of the voting booth.

So my family and I pulled up to the polling place, a mere two-minute drive from our house, and made our way inside to do our part as active citizens. I took particular pleasure in the fact that I saw happy people leaving the school. It was as if people were proud of themselves for doing their part to make democracy function. These people did not seem bothered or disgruntled, rushed or unfulfilled.

My mother and I walked thru the double doors to meet my father, who had driven there a few minutes ahead of us. As I entered the gymnasium, I noticed something supremely odd; there was no chaos, no confused people asking to speak to voting rights lawyers, no poll workers fumbling around with incompetence. What I did find in that gymnasium however, were a number of lines split up by last name with about 10 people in each. The lines were moving quickly, the election officials were calm and collected, and information was being handled with the utmost care and rapidity.

My father joked to me that my name was not on the registry, playing with the fears that I had never expressed, but felt compelled to contemplate thanks to an overbearing media influence. Sure enough, as I stepped up to the table with the sign in sheet, there was my name, in clear bold print:

Craig Cook
12 Street Name Here
Town, New York Zip Code

I signed my name to the voter registry, and made my way towards the curtain. I chuckled to myself as I recalled that famous line from the Wizard of Oz “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” What irony? This day in my life, this one day, what goes on behind the curtain was more important than what was going on outside of it. On this day, we all got a chance to be the “man behind the curtain” and pull the levers and switches that make our society function. I came to the realization, as I pulled the lever, closing the curtain behind me, that the president is as much a figurehead as the great floating hologram that Dorthy and her crew encountered in the emerald hall.

You see, the president is the authorative reflection of the majority will (well, the majority of people who actually use their voice), much as the Wizard was a reflection of authority in Oz. Standing in this booth with this picture of the Wizard, this iconographic authorative fear inducing Big Brother image burning into my mind's eye, I had to make a decision as to whose face I wanted to impose on that floating head. I have done my homework, followed the race closely, researched policy and procedure, and now, it was time to choose.

What was I to do armed with this knowledge? John F. Kerry, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader- three names, three lines, one choice. No one was whispering in my ear, telling me the answers, there was no way to cheat (at least for my part), there was not even a right or wrong. This choice finally came down to emotion, intellect, awareness, responsibility and trust. No one could make that decision for me better than me. I cast my vote and took my place as a responsible citizen, affirming to myself and the world that democracy works if we believe in and practice it. I made my choice, and it felt good.

Regardless of what happens in the aftermath of the 2004 Presidential Election, I did my part. Whether we have an answer tonight or in six weeks, whether lawyers gunk up the process or the Supreme Court makes the final decision, I did my job as a citizen. Now I put my faith in the American political process and hope to everything holy that someone wins this thing fair and square. I can just keep my fingers crossed that my pick is the victor.