I'm Not a Democrat or Republican...I'm an American

Every four years for as long as I can remember, by dad has had an opinion on the outcome of the Presidential election. Like most people, he is hardcore one candidate each time. I remember when I was a little kid and we would watch the news leading up to the election. Dad would always sit in his chair and say, "If so-and-so wins, I don't give a damn we're moving to Ireland!" I think one year we were going to move to the Bahamas...but Dad really likes Ireland. So it was no surprise to me that my father texted me this morning to inform me that not only had he was the first vote cast in Jackson County, NC.  In the snow. At 6:40 in the morning...That's my dad!

My dad's dad, Grandpa Ken, was a Captain in the United States Navy, as well as serving as a radiologist with the United States Marine Corps. He was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, San Diego, California, as well as Key West, Florida, and even served over seas in the Korean War. My grandpa Ken was a bad ass. He had a sword, and he had an incredible amount of pride in our country. If he was alive today, I can guarantee that he would be incredibly disappointed in the tactics that people in our country have resorted to while trying to justify who they are voting for.

When it comes down to it, my vote is my vote, and your vote it your vote. Don't stand there and berate my choice for the election simply because you are voting differently than I am. Most importantly, don't complain tomorrow when you either didn't vote, or didn't take the time to be educated about your candidate choice.

Bottom line. If you haven't already voted, please take some time to legitimately research the candidates. Being an uneducated voter is almost worse than not voting at all. Stop discriminating against people simply because their vote is different from yours. The ability to make that choice of who to vote for is one of the biggest rights that we have as Americans. Embrace it.

Captain Kenneth Arnold Parmelee, MD, US Navy.
Brown University class of 1945.
University of Vermont College of Medicine Class of 1947.
(July 11, 1943-October 30, 2004)