And that has made all the difference.

As did (or will) pretty much everybody else in the country, I voted today. And I feel really *good* about it.

The only reason that's significant is because I didn't feel good about it two days ago, a week ago, three months ago. As I explained before, I've called myself a Republican in the past, but no longer. The Republican Party has left me, and the Democratic Party is so, SO far from finding me.

Sure, I said I was voting for Obama. At the time, I believed myself. Then I realized I was doing so in resignation, and that's no way to feel about voting. The thing is, it's pretty disheartening to live in a place where, unless you are a hardcore Democrat, your vote doesn't matter. The common thing you hear is, "Don't vote for the third parties. It's a wasted vote, and it will only help the guy you don't want to win."

Well. Since my vote in the State of Maryland is wasted anyway, I happily went and voted Libertarian. I guess I just feel like if we ever want more choices, we'd better go out and demand them.

Plus, it felt really good to give the finger, in my tiny little way, to the Red and the Blue.