Why I Won't Tell You Who I Voted For

Being a journalist changed how I talk about the election - I rarely voice my opinion on it. I still try to maintain an image of being unbiased. Yes, I have an opinion, and yes, I "state" it when I bubble in my ballot, but you'll rarely find me posting it anywhere.

There are certain issues I will speak out on. But, I also choose where I do that. I dont' necessarily think my classroom is the appropriate spot. Basically, this kind of boils down to that I want everyone to feel safe and welcome in my classroom. In today's heated and very divided political climate, I think that there could be a possibility that some would think that I wasn't being fair or they weren't welcome because our viewpoints differ. And, that's the last thing I would want for ANY of my students.

Just because I don't disclose who I like, I still get excited for Election Day. I clear my calendar so I can sit in front of the TV as the results come in. And, I still color in my map of the US every presidential election based on which way the state went. My mom started me doing that in 1984 so she didn't have to deal with the 5-year-old and could just watch the results. My map gets printed out the night before, and the blue and red colored pencils are sharpened, waiting to be used.

This is the one day I really miss being in the newsroom (and not just for the free pizza - I swear!). There was a feeling in that room on election night that truly was electrifying. It was entirely abuzz with energy and action and stress (don't even get me started on the stress of 2000), but nights like this are why many of us sat in a newsroom. Even though journalists put forth an unbiased front to the public, we all had our favorites. And, no, it wasn't just the most liberal candidates like the stereotype claims. Newsrooms have people on both sides of the aisle. We respected each other for it because we recognized and understood that we were well read on the issues and weren't just going by unfounded facts we got from an unreliable source. That's not to say we didn't get heated in some of our discussions, but there was still a mutual respect. That's something I think a lot of people miss now - they aren't as informed as they should be. You can't just go by propaganda or ads. You need to do your research and really learn what the candidates stand for as well as their past record - not just what they say they did on TV ads.

Despite this and the fact that we are far too divided politically right now (compromise is not a bad word), it is still pretty great that we live in a country where we get to fully pick our leaders. We don't have to worry about any backlash for our choices, and we get to decide whether we let others know who we voted for. We take this for granted because it is all we've ever known. We should revel in the fact that we are lucky enough to make choices.