Well today is the day of reckoning. Today is the day millions of people put pen to paper and vote, led either by their mind, heart or faith, or as in my case, the gut. It is the only day when we are able to speak as loud we can with one voice, with the hope we are not drowned out by polling numbers, a biased media or the fringe voices on both the left and the right. But is anyone listening?

Despite whoever takes the oath in Januaury, I suspect it will be pretty much business as usual. The country will continue to run a haphazard course, dictated by world events, special interest, self-preservation and the occasional talking points of the extreme left or or right. And it is this background noise year-round that drowns the rest of us out, the sane voices, the moderate voices, the voices that reason. There is no way we can compete. And the one time we are truely allowed a voice, that raises above the din, is it really making any difference if the parties are more or less the same?

Early reports indicate that it will be a record turnout. Everyone is doing their part, sometimes twice; polarized by the war on terror and such domestic issues as the economy, abortion, stem cell research and healthcare. This is at least how it seems on the surface. This polarization is a result of being driven apart by the parties, and to a large extent, the media, so far apart we latch on to one or two key issues to the detriment of all the others. Not one party has all the right answers. Not one party has all the wrong answers. Yet this is what they preach.

I think something needs to take place to demonstrate we are all more the same than different; that there is more to unite us than to divide us. It has happened before, but at the expense of thousands of lives; and they are usually short term. Something that would trump the voices that normally hold firm in the Washington. Once we realize that those we elect really do no represent us, we are ready to take such steps. Once we abandon labels and party affiliations to do what is right for ourselves, and this country, we are ready to take such steps. Once we refuse to be divided, and join together on the strength and clarity of one voice, we are ready to take such steps.