I took this photo with my Blackberry while walking through the East Village on Sunday. Unfortunately, Blackberry pics are not top quality, but hopefully you can get a gist of this very cool mural.

I am moved by this mural. I am also someone who used to get shy when discussions turn into heated political debates because sometimes they make me feel dumb and afraid. I am often very overwhelmed and annoyed by all the bullsh*t that surrounds elections. I, over the past few years, have threatened an elaborate and impossible plan to move to Italy to escape the shameful state of US politics and the current economy. But this mural made me happy to be an American right now. It made me feel like a smart, empowered, American. Are there some things that piss me off about the US? Sure. (Like I dunno, the fact that we are still fighting a war. Oh and the fact that Flavor Flav is a bona fide celebrity). But I do love that as an American I have rights, one being the right to help choose the next president and this mural reminds us of that simple and awesome fact : “America, Make the Right Choice. Vote.”

Today feels like a holiday. All morning I have gotten emails and instant messages from friends telling each other what went down at their polling place. My favorite so far was this…“So we were standing in line when a woman walks out…an older, African American woman and she stands at the top of the stairs and announces “I was the first one to vote!” Applause rang out through the crowd. I began to cry” I think that just about sums up what’s going on today. No matter who you are voting for or what your views are, we all agree that we must vote! People are emotional about politics. People are excited about politics. There is an amazing energy in the air today. While free ice cream, vibrators and coffee are all much appreciated incentives to vote, Americans don’t need bribes to vote this year. Americans want to vote this year. (Although I do plan to snag a free sex toy and Starbucks. I ain’t no fool.)

So tonight, no matter the results of this election ( although I really want Obama to win. Sorry, it’s my blog post and I can drop a lil’ political plug) we can all be proud that we came together as a country and utilized our right to vote.

And on that note, I’m off to my polling station. Hoorah Democracy! Everybody sing!