Vote.

As I walk to my polling place each election, I always have this kind of amazing experience. A kind of profound, almost indescribable gratitude always comes over me on that walk. With each step, I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for the people who came before me who who fought long and hard for me to be able to vote.
As a woman and as a member of a marginalized ethnic group, I am someone who has directly benefitted from thousands of people's unrelenting courage and work to make it possible for me to vote. I've been "allowed" access only because there were people who fought back against bigger forces to make it happen. They didn't have to do that. But they did. And I am forever indebted to them.

Flawed as our system may be (and it is flawed, let's not kid ourselves here), we're still on the side where the amount of time we (women, people of color) have been able to vote pales in comparison to the time that we were denied that right. And, frankly, since some people are still being denied in some form or another, I guess we really can't even start the clock. We're just not really out of the woods here with the parity, folks.

For those of you who are in places where voting is happening today, please go do it. People really stuck their necks out there. Let's do them proud.

I thank you.

Edited to add: Take your photo ID with you to vote, regardless of whether or not it's a requirement in your state. I just saw that there is evidence that people are being denied without it, even where it is not required. Sheesh.