This is what the sticker looks like that I got after I voted in the 2008 United States Presidential Election. Everybody who votes gets them. Usually I put mine on my shirt and then it's in the garbage by the end of the day (or the dryer...), but back in 2008 I put mine on my bag, on the front clasp that sits on the strap that goes across my chest when I wear it. Like I said, it's been on there since 2008 and once in a while I would get someone who would say, "Oh, was there an election today?" Or the smart comment, "So, you voted?" I had completely forgotten about it until I started wearing the bag again this summer. My mom noticed the sticker and I said, "Yeah, I guess it's about time I took it off..." but she told me I should leave it on. I really didn't think much about it until I started wearing my bag here in Abu Dhabi.
Now I have been getting comments about it left and right. One woman I met in IKEA said, "Your American, right? I noticed your sticker." And today one woman three checkout lanes next to me made and effort to tell me she liked my sticker. I'm realizing that it's more than a fashion statement- it's a political statement. I'm starting to wonder how many people notice it and what they are thinking when they do. Here I am in a country run by a monarchy and I'm flaunting that I voted. Am I showing off a little more when you add the fact that I'm a WOMAN that voted? One little sticker proclaims who I am and where I come from. But more so it proclaims my RIGHT TO VOTE. It makes me think about those that have given their lives to make our country free and those that stood up for equal rights for women. This little sticker certifies the right I have being part of a democracy, which is what so many countries in the Middle East are fighting for. Though I wear it with pride, I hope I don't seem like I'm bragging...
Now I'm a bit sad it's getting worn out.
So next time you vote and they shout "So-and-so has voted" and hand you your sticker- remember your privileged to wear it. I wonder if they give them to you if you vote absentee?...
