The Privilege to Vote

This last Thursday, I took a trip to the American Consulate with my friend Liesl Stewart (who is married to a South African and has resided here in Cape Town the last 14 years) we were on one mission…to vote for the upcoming presidential election!

I must admit that this past month, finding a way to vote in this foreign country did not cross my mind…not only with limited transport, but also not fully aware of how to pursue it. Well Liesl rang a few days ago, and when she asked if I was going to go to the Consulate to vote I honestly hesitated. Would it really matter?...a voice trailed in my head. That exact evening I finally finished Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk to Freedom…an incredible book…in the last chapter, he talks about the privilege of voting for the first time in 71 years…after spending over 30 years in prison, fighting for freedom. I was inspired, touched and aware at that moment…the incredible privilege that voting brings! Yes I would vote in this foreign country and yes I would proudly join Liesl to do my duty as an American citizen.

When we arrived at the Consulate, with passports in hand, we drove up to the entrance…and being American citizens we were able to flash our blue passports and have VIP parking (all the other nationalities had to park at a near by shopping center at the bottom of the hill, and then walk up by foot up to the building). Then at the entrance, a queue of people wrapped around the building…I assume the majority of them were South Africans coming to apply for US travel visas…but, yet again, being American citizens we were able to jump the queue, flash our passports and head right in…I’m sure to the frustration of everyone waiting in the hot sun behind us. Once in and through security we were led to a waiting room...and as citizens we got to sit in a private seating area, jumping the queue once again. Did I feel bad that I was receiving this special treatment while others had to wait? Well, to be honest it was actually rather refreshing…for the past few months I have been on the other end of massive queues, visa fines and a lack in customer service!

After filing out lots of paper work and re-registering for our absentee ballots, Liesl and I were finally able to do our part and vote for the future President of the United States. We left with a smile, and a sense of completion…knowing we had done our part…even so many miles away from ‘home’.