In spite of the encouraging poll numbers, I've been getting nervous about Tuesday's election (I know, join the club). So nervous in fact, that I finally did what I said I couldn't do, or wouldn't do - I made calls for the Obama campaign. I had a lot of resistance (fear) about doing this, but in the end it was so painless - especially since 2 out of 3 calls I got an message machine - that I kicked myself for not having done it sooner. It helped to be in a room with lots of other people doing the same thing. Also, these also weren't cold calls - I was calling MoveOn.org members to ask them to volunteer, so they were people sympathetic to the cause. Some of the responses (when I did get a live person) were interesting, even humourous. One man answered the phone and turned out to be the father of the MoveOn member - who was 11 years old. One woman, when I asked her if she could volunteer for Obama this weekend, informed me very politely that she was voting for McCain. Oops. Another man replied to my scripted question of "How are you doing tonight?" with a partly sung litany of complaints, country-music style, complete with Southern accent: "Overworked, underpaid, broken-down, downhearted..." etc. He said he couldn't volunteer because he was disabled, but he was getting a ride to vote. His humourous way of answering the phone - and rising above his own problems - made my night.
Several people, when listing the reasons they couldn't volunteer this weekend, touched on the very issues that Obama is running on. One young man whispered into the phone "I can't talk, I'm at work" (it was 8 o'clock at night) and said he is working two jobs to make ends meet, and has no time to volunteer, though he would sincerely like to. An older woman said she couldn't come out because she has to take care of her disabled mother. Health care, the economy. Up close and personal.
But I was heartened to hear the people who already were volunteering - mostly older (I was calling Florida), very passionate, very involved. They put my feeble last-minute efforts to help Obama to shame. Or rather, they reminded me how real change happens: little by little, one conversation and interaction at a time. Isn't this how history is written? Could it be possible that we are finally getting a chance, with this election, to write (or indeed, right) American history ourselves?
1 comment:
The irony of Sarah Palin poking fun at Obama for being a community organizer.
Look at how he's mobilized so many people to get out and vote, care, make a difference.
When Palin/McLame lose, I hope Palin crawls back under a rock in Wasilla where some wolves can find her and give her some frontier justice. She will definitely be getting a letter from my class (as former governors have in the past) asking her why she is still allowing hunting of wolves from the air (or at all) and catering to the game/trophy hunter special interest group.
Interesting that Wasilla, btw, endorses Obama!
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