Voting

Today was election day and I duly voted. How I voted is immaterial but the fact that I can is more the point here.

I am not going to go into huge detail about the suffrage movement even though I find this absolutely fascinating I just want to thank tits members for having the courage to fight. A little fight goes a long way.

Below is an excerpt from a New Zealand website, http://nationalmps.co.nz authored by Nicky Wagner MP and dated September 19 2010 but retrieved today, 2 November 2010.

"The suffrage movement was New Zealand’s first truly mass movement. The Suffragists mobilised tens of thousands of people all over the nation, building momentum year after year until they achieved their goal.

One of the tactics they used was petition writing. Suffrage campaigners organised a series of large petitions to Parliament calling for votes for women. In 1891 over 9000 signatures were gathered and in 1892 almost 20,000. These petitions raised awareness of the cause, and supported suffrage bills before Parliament, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Finally though, in 1893, nearly 32,000 signatures were obtained – the largest petition the fledgling nation had seen, and representing almost a quarter of the adult European female population in New Zealand at the time.

This was the petition that Kate Sheppard pasted together in her kitchen from individual sheets from around the country. Not all the sheets arrived in time – the post took a little longer in those days – but the roll she made up contained 23,853 names.

This was the roll that John Hall MP rolled down the central aisle of the House of Representatives. I’ve read that the petition made quite a thud when it hit the end wall of the debating chamber. It certainly made an impression because, within months, the all-male parliament had granted women the vote, making New Zealand a world leader."

I have seen part of this aforementioned roll on a recent trip to New Zealand and nearly cried. It was the most powerful piece of paper I will ever be lucky enough to see.

A "fledgling nation" was the first in the world to grant women the vote! Who says we can't change a system?

Whatever you believe have the courage to stand by it and stay true. Vote!

I have unsaddled the high horse.