Some CNN.com commenters shared Frida Ghitis' enthusiasm for voting, while others were disillusioned with the process. We have collected a sampling of their reactions. You can read chris1911's full comment here.
Editor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for The Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer and correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television." Follow her on Twitter: @FridaGColumns
(CNN) -- Let's all stop for moment, catch our breath and take in the magnitude of what is happening. Before we jump from campaign frenzy to post-election celebration -- or disappointment -- we should not let Election Day pass without pausing to really absorb what an extraordinary thing democracy is.
The idea that the people have a right to decide who will govern them, that the men and women who want to become president have to undergo a grueling, months-long job application process, engaging with citizens, trying to persuade everyone, rich and poor, young, old, men, women -- everyone -- that they deserve the position, is a truly remarkable reality.
It is also a contagious idea that has spilled across the surface of the Earth like water seeking its natural level. But it is not a self-occurring, automatic state of affairs.
Over the centuries, the strong simply seized power, and the masses regularly endured unjust rule. Democracy has come because of enormous effort and sacrifice. And in too many places, many are still struggling, even dying, to claim it as their own.
America's democracy is flawed, yes. But it is nowhere near so flawed as to be rendered meaningless or beyond repair.
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Those who have spent their whole lives living under a democracy, or who have never witnessed the passion with which those living without it can yearn for a legitimate government, may not grasp just how stunning it is for all the people to have the power to choose their government. History, even recent and still-unfolding history, is filled with examples of dictatorship and tyranny. And it is rich with stories of courageous efforts to bring it down.
No one who remembers what happened in China in 1989 can take democracy for granted. Hundreds of thousands of students took over Tiananmen Square, erecting their crude Styrofoam and papier mache replica of the Statue of Liberty, the Goddess of Democracy they called it, smack in front of the giant portrait of Mao Zedong.
They declared that the goddess announced to the world that, "A consciousness of democracy has awakened among the Chinese people! The new era has begun."
It was not to be. Within four days, army tanks trampled the statue, along with hundreds, perhaps thousands of demonstrators. Today, the article you are reading now may not appear on Internet searches in China, which block the word "Tiananmen," along with efforts to bring democracy.
And who can forget the first multiracial election in South Africa? That day in 1994, voters lined up for miles as far as the eye could see, some waiting as long as 12 hours to cast their vote.
The winner was Nelson Mandela, revered to this day as a symbol of equality, reconciliation, non-violence and an unbending determination to make the privilege of democracy apply to all the people.
Penn State students wait in line to vote in the student union building on the State College, Pennsylvania, campus on Tuesday.
Photos: America heads to the polls
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Political theater, angry crowds in Egypt
Nelson Mandela's early years
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The passion for democracy among those who don't enjoy it can seem naive to those who have seen its flaws.
I remember interviewing women in Kuwait seeking the right to vote in that emirate's very limited democracy. What if after gaining the vote they would not make any progress, I asked. Their answer revealed complete faith that democracy would bring the best outcome. Then we just have to work better, harder, to explain our positions to voters, they said.
More recently, the images from Tahrir Square in Cairo inspired the world, as Egyptians sought to overthrow a decades-old dictatorship as part of a wave of revolutions across the region.
We have followed with nervousness the unfolding uprisings in other parts of the Middle East, wondering whether democracy will emerge victorious.
Not everyone who fights against the existing tyranny seeks democracy. There are those who would like to impose their own ideas of how the people should be ruled.
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After all, we now accept as obvious the belief spelled out in the U.S. Declaration of Independence that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed. But that is truly a revolutionary vision, one that turns the concept of power on its head.
In fact, it is a majestic idea, one that seems so romantic as to appear utopian, unreachable. And it is certainly not easy to achieve in all its fullness.
It's worth remembering that the proposition does not refer just to elections. Choosing a president and other representatives of the people to govern is just the first step. The true objective of the exercise is to establish a government that will work for the benefit of society or, as Lincoln so perfectly expressed it, "a government of the people, by the people, for the people."
For a reminder of how drastically different this could be, think back to the start of the Arab revolutions, when Mohamed Bouazizi, an impoverished Tunisian fruit vendor trying desperately to make ends meet, set himself on fire after an official capriciously confiscated his fruit cart and weighing scales.
Your take: Should we have polling places in churches?
It means that after a government takes the reins, the country has a right to expect it to function for the benefit of the nation; that when the government fails, the people have a right to be outraged and demand results.
In a few hours, the polls will close across the United States, results will begin pouring in and a large part of the population will feel deeply, painfully, angrily disappointed, while a slightly larger portion will burst into celebration (unless the election brings another excruciating delayed decision).
So, let's pause briefly to experience a sense of awe for the system. After that, the time will be right for a new push to repair its many flaws.
Frum: Our voting system is a disgrace
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Frida Ghitis.
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Voters cast their ballots in Mansfield, Texas.
A man exits a voting booth at a fire station in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. As the New Jersey coastline continues to recover from Superstorm Sandy, numerous polling stations have had to merge and relocate due to storm damage and power outages.
Samantha Pelletier shows off her voting sticker outside Bristol's old Town Hall.
A man votes inside the Town Hall in Franconia, Minnesota.
Adults of the Uddin family, originally from Bangladesh, vote together at the Hightower Elementary School polling site in Doraville, Georgia.
An elderly women casts her vote at Salem Baptist Church in Sparta, Virginia.
A sign directs disabled voters to a polling site entrance at the Graham & Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
People line up to cast their ballots at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.
Kezia Gipson, 3, waits with her grandparents Doris Ross and Freddie Irvin in a voting line at the International Longshoremen's Association Office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday.
A man puts on an "I Voted" sticker after casting his ballot in Otter Creek, Iowa, on Tuesday.
A voter's shadow appears on the wall as he arrives at a Phoenix, Arizona, polling station Tuesday.
Robert Palmer, left, and Pat Payne wait in line to cast their vote at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Horse Gall precinct clerk David Smith talks with poll worker and daughter-in-law Charlene Smith at the home of his father, Vincent Smith, in Varnville, South Carolina. The precinct's polling place is in the elder Smith's den.
Three-term Democratic congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Chris Murphy casts his vote with his 1-year-old son Rider at Cheshire High School in Cheshire, Connecticut.
A woman walks out of a polling place after voting in South Jordan, Utah. The Jordan River Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is visible in the background.
A voter casts her ballot in the gymnasium of Douglas Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Gaberyel Chandler casts his vote with the help of safety patrol officer Cheyenne Roberts during a mock presidential election Tuesday at Emerald Shores Elementary School in Ocala, Florida.
A carved pumpkin greets voters at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Kaira Ray watches as her grandmother Theresa Bigl votes at the old Town Hall in Bristol, New Hampshire.
A poll worker directs people to a temporary polling center in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. Polling sites in Coney Island and the surrounding area were damaged during Superstorm Sandy.
Amy O'Neill, left, and Michelle Nowakowski show off an "I Voted" sticker on their Boston terrier Penny in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Voters cast their ballots at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C.
People cast their ballots inside a decorator's garage in South Philadelphia on Tuesday.
A person votes at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
A jogger on The Strand in the Los Angeles area community of Hermosa Beach passes a directional sign to a polling place at sunrise Tuesday.
Darrick West stands at a voting booth at Salem Baptist Church, on Tuesday in Sparta, Virginia.
A voter takes a moment to read a paper ballot before casting her vote on Chicago's Northside.
Voters mark paper ballots at Halloran Skating Rink in Cleveland, Ohio.
Derrick Banks wears an "I Voted" sticker on his forehead after casting his ballot in Chicago.
Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, kiss after casting their votes in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and his family head to the polls in Janesville, Wisconsin.
An election worker helps President Barack Obama as he votes early at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Chicago on October 25.
Vice President Joe Biden, center, heads toward the voting booth in Greenville, Delaware.
Stickers for voters are seen at Tremont Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio.
Voters line up to cast their vote at the Boston Public Library in Romney's home state of Massachusetts.
Citizens wait in line at a polling station in a senior appartment complex in Chicago.
A citizen votes at Carleton Middle School in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Voters line up at the Mount Pleasant Library early Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.
Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, wait to cast the first Election Day ballots of the U.S. presidential race shortly after midnight. The village has opened polls early since 1960, but for the first time in its history, there was a tie. Obama and Romney each received five votes.
Voters wait outside the Johnson County election office in Olathe, Kansas, on Monday, November 5, the last day of early voting.
Residents of Ocean County vote in Toms River, New Jersey, on Monday. A special early mail voting arrangement allows residents of the areas affected by Superstorm Sandy to vote in person with a mail-in ballot on short notice.
Two-year-old Ariel Ferreras accompanies his mother, Erika, as she votes in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Friday, November 2. Voters in Maryland broke the state's record for early voting turnout.
Early voters fill out their ballots on the first day of early voting in Miami on October 27. Early voting in the swing state of Florida was held for eight straight 12-hour days.
Carol Braddock of Los Angeles casts her vote in Norwalk, California, on October 25.
Jalani Hervey, 5, waits with his grandmother, Victoria Gross, while she stands in line to cast a ballot during early voting in Milwaukee on October 22.
Election judges William Moeller, left, and Harry Sabin transfer ballots from a drop box outside of the library in Denver on October 22.
Phignora Brown, left, gets assistance from a polling station worker as she casts her ballot on the first day of early voting in Las Vegas on October 20.
Electronic voting authorization cards are returned at the East Las Vegas Community Center polling station on October 20.
A man uses a touch screen voting booth to cast his ballot on the first day of early voting in Washington on October 22.
Jaime Grant carries her 11-month-old daughter, Brynn, and holds her 3-year-old son Brian's hand as she casts her ballot during early voting in College Park, Georgia, on October 19.
A voter displays an "I Voted" sticker on her lapel after voting early in Wilson, North Carolina, on October 18.
Kalli Hannafious holds her daughter Averie as she signs in for early voting in Anchorage, Alaska on October 2.
Jerry Nagel fills in his ballot during early voting at the Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo, Iowa, on September 27, the first day of early voting in the state.
Voters enter the polling site at StarBridge Christian Center in Wildwood, Missouri.
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