Coming from an antisocial and crime-filled past, I've not felt like I belonged anywhere save incarceration, and I couldn't have cared less how our country was doing, whether it be to the left or the right, or continue the dizzy spiraling effect it seems to currently be enmeshed in. My only interest in life consisted of what I could take from those about me. Most people grow up to become socially mature and responsible at an early age, and .they'd never entertain the thoughts of doing the childish and immature things that have kept our prisons full to the rafters. Others of us struggle well into our 60's to finally grasp this all-important concept of what freedom really means. The message I can't stress strongly enough is that adult-thinking men and women act in a sociably responsible fashion. Period!!!

Who should vote? We all should be able to, from the most downtrodden miscreant surviving the best he can living under a bridge to the most successful of our lot, peering down at us from a high-rise in the most affluent part of our society.

Because of the fact I am on parole I cannot exercise my "right" to vote. At least here In Colorado I'll be able to vote once I'm off parole, but that's not good enough. As a citizen, one paying his taxes for over five years now and respecting all the laws of the land, I ache to be part of things. You see, besides it being a right it is a responsibility, a duty, a privilege and an honor.

People on parole have certain restrictions placed on them.' For instance, we can't go to taverns. The reason, of course, needs no explanation. Booze causes an untold amount of social problems. The downside of being a bank teller is also quite evident - some damned fool, fresh outta "stir" might take all the money and run Venezuela!!! (My apologies to Harry Belafonte and his "Matilda"). Some would question the "downside" of that, but it's a restriction that must be adhered to if they are to remain free. Restrictions must have downsides; else they’d be nothing more than a cruel form of harassment. Even a kid having to stand in the corner knows why he's there, right?!?

In all fairness, and being perfectly frank and honest, I pose the question: What is the downside of being restricted from casting a vote??? A reasonable, sane and mature individual would be hard-pressed to think of a logical reason why a fellow citizen should not be allowed to vote.