Today is election day in the US and I, as an Iranian-American, have the right to vote; a right that was never a real one in my birth place. In fact no one has such a real right. All non-conforming votes to what the government wants are either voided or exchanged for favorite ones. This could not be a real vote.

I sent my vote last week by mail. It was for one of the "other" candidates. There is no doubt that one of the candidates from Democrat or Republican parties would be elected but, like millions of Americans who want to come out of the vicious circle of the two major parties and attain more choices to elect their presidents, senators and members of Congress.

I know that the candidate of my choice has no chance of winning but I believe that if we can raise the possibilities for such candidates even for a mere one per cent, the American leaders would get the message that they should think of introducing changes and expanding the justice - justice not confined to the US but to our planet.

It is difficult to only think of ourselves in a world that love, freedom and justice are considered as endangered.I think of those tomorrows that belong to our children and grand ones. It does not make any difference if they are American, or Iranian, from Europe or Africa...

Shokooh Mirzadegi
Writer and journalist
Denver