I, The Jury

Today I am serving jury duty for the first time ever. I got a summons once about 15 years ago, but wasn’t able to serve that time. Unlike many other people around me right now, I’m not bitching and whining about being here. As I type this, there’s a woman on her cell phone talking (very loudly) to everyone she knows, complaining about being here. “Waaaa, boo hoo, it took me two hours to get here. I don’t care if they come and arrest me, I’m never coming here again.” I secretly hope that she gets called soon and serves on a jury for a trial that lasts about six months. It would serve her right.

Actually, I’m rather excited about being on a jury. I’ve always wanted to do it, and I have never really felt like a “real” American because I haven’t had the opportunity to participate in the jury process. That said, I don’t want to be on a death penalty case that lasts six months, either!

When I told people at work that I was going to be out today on jury duty, every one of them gave me tips on how to get out of it. Why is that? Why is everyone so opposed to doing their duty as a citizen? (Yes, I know, Peter Griffin, I just said “duty.” Get over it, I’m being serious here.) We live in the greatest country in the world, where everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his/her peers. How cool is that? We should be excited to go and get a day off work (with pay for some of us) and participate in the legal system. But instead, everyone is always looking for a way to be excused from service.

These are the same people who don’t vote, either. Back in February, on “Super Tuesday,” in fact, I worked from home and took my son to vote for the first time. It was great. He and I went to the polling place, signed in and got our ballots. We used the new touch screens, so that was a first for me. Actually I was kind of sad because he’ll never get to experience the “punch card” ballots. I always liked those. But what really made me sad was the fact that we were the only two people there except for the election officials.

What has happened in this country? The turnout for the election is nearly 50%, and that’s considered really good? Do you have any idea how many people in Cuba or Iraq or Soviet Russia who would love to have the privilege of voting for their favorite candidate? All they got to do was put an X on the one candidate on the ballot. This just in, Saddam and Fidel were re-elected again, with 100% of the vote again. Wow, what a shock. (Actually, I remember one election where Saddam got 99% of the vote. How many write-ins were there, and how long did those voters survive?)

Somebody said once, “America isn’t easy.” That’s right. America isn’t easy. America takes hard work and sacrifice. A lot of good people died so you can have that house in the suburbs. They died so you can choose which career path you want, then change it after a few years. They died so you can go to the mall without filling out a will first. They died so you can send your children to school without worrying if the bus will make it to school without exploding. And they died so you can write letters to the editor complaining about the government without looking over your shoulder for the secret police. Is it too much to ask for you to spend one day serving on a jury, or stopping by on your way home twice a year to vote? Apparently it is.

Update: Unfortunately, I was not called into a courtroom. I spent the entire day sitting in the jury assembly room playing solitaire on the computer, reading a newspaper, and talking to my fellow prospective jurors. Some of them were called and they all complained. When the rest of us were told we could go home, the people at my table all were relieved and happy. I was disappointed.

Oh, and I did a Sudoku puzzle. The first time I’ve ever done one!