BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
(Photo: Briana E. Heard)
This past weekend marked the culmination of something that was set in motion at the very beginning of the rule of Tyrant Trump. My wife, in her infinite wisdom, decided that we needed an escape plan now that a deranged, racist imbecile had become the occupier of the White House. So in early 2017, with a determination that bordered on madness, my wife began the tedious process of obtaining dual citizenship for our family. She hunted down all the necessary documents, made several visits to the Dominican consulate and after almost a year the objective was achieved. My wife and I, as well as our three daughters, were now proud citizens of both the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Fast forward to July 5, 2020. I, with my Dominican cedula (identification card) in hand, headed to P.S. 152 on Nagle Ave to cast a vote in my first Dominican election ever. The various lines and the sheer amount of people there was both inspiring and dispiriting. It was encouraging that so many people showed up to exercise their civic responsibilities on such a scorching hot Sunday, especially after probably not sleeping with the illegal fireworks extravaganza that took place the night before, but I was also afraid that this would be a long and unnecessarily drawn-out ordeal.
I was simply wrong. After speaking to one of the very capable poll workers, I was escorted into the building and placed next in line to vote. The ballot was very colorful with actual pictures of the candidates. It was also super confusing because the different presidential candidates appeared several times on the ballot. Luckily, another one of the adept poll workers took the time to explain it to me.
I left that building walking on air having taken part in the sacred act of voting. I voted for Abinader and the PRM party not because they are perfect, but because it was the vote that had to be cast. The other two options were both from the PLD, which has been the ruling party since 1996 with a brief respite from 2000 to 2004. It was time for a change after almost 2 decades of consecutive PLD rule and the people made that painfully obvious by giving Abinader a landslide victory. Let’s hope that the citizens of this country do the same and give the ruling a party the boot this November. Like we say in the Dominican Republic, e pa’ fuera que van!
Pa’lante, Siempre Pa’lante!
Related:
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – JONESTOWN 2020
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – THE REOPENING
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – LEADERSHIP MATTERS
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – MALCOLM ON MY MIND
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – THINGS I MISS
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – TRUMPLAND 2020
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – CLAP BECAUSE YOU CARE
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – THE SIRENS
OP-LED: UPTOWN LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – BILL WITHERS TO THE RESCUE
We invite you to subscribe to the weekly Uptown Love newsletter, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter & Instagram or e-mail us at [email protected].
