No, not Shelley Jackson, I’m thinking of the ink-stained fingers of Iraqis leaving the polls. From two Iraqi brothers blogging the election:

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world’s tyrants.
I put the paper in the box and with it, there were tears that I couldn’t hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said “brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn”.

I’ve never been in favor of the war, and even less in favor of the occupation, but watching democracy in action, it’s hard not to be inspired. Yes, there is more than a little doubt that the election will fix things. But it’s still a revolution. Some sources are reporting up to a 72 percent turnout, despite the threats (and reality) of violence.

It’s ridiculous how well democracy is working today in Iraq, compared to how badly it worked in America a few months ago. I’m happy for the Iraqi people. I’m happy that it wasn’t all for nothing. I hope that it really does change things for them. I think this is even further proof that America is broken. I just watched Bush claim it as a victory, but it just makes the country he’s supposed to be fixing look horribly, horribly damaged in comparison. The ink on the fingers of Iraqis today is a mark of pride for them, and shame for us. It is America’s scarlet letter. When was the last time 72 percent of Americans did anything? If Americans were threatened with violence, our voter turnout would probably hover around 10 percent. I’d like to think that I would vote, that I’m young and idealistic enough to brave the threat, but I don’t know that I am.

Before I leave the house today, I’m going to smear my right index finger in blue ink. Our brothers and sisters in Iraq deserve so much respect for doing what we cannot do in a much freer society.

[all via BuzzMachine, where Jeff Jarvis has lots of great links to Iraqi bloggers]