I have found that everyone is in for different reasons, and I searched deep down to make sure that the reasons that I got in were pure.
I guess I have been fortunate that I have always been politically aware. And as I have gotten older, the politics of life has seemed to have taken on a greater importance and with it, politics of the nation.
Until recently I was prone to sit on the sidelines and leave the actual political role playing and excitement to others.
I have always been someone that was involved deeply, and most importantly quietly, in the issues that surrounded my community. (I believe that part of it was not feeling that I had anything useful to add to the larger political dialogue. But that has all changed.)
My political indoctrination began around age 5 or so, when I realized that Jimmy Carter was President and that he was from Georgia; just like me.
During my youngest years, I was fond of the Republicans, especially Ronald Reagan because they were able to communicate a vision of hope. Since I wasn't old enough or able enough to understand the specific policy stances, hope seemed good.
As I grew older, I began to see that there was great inequality in this country.
I count myself as somewhat lucky in this regard. I was born a white, male American; that in itself is a blessing in some ways, and as I learned later, it can be a curse too.
As my perceptions of the world changed, I realized that all people really need a chance and some hope and I began to become more liberal in my stances.
I made it through high school and college, maintaining and growing my liberal stances; even to the point of having cast a vote for Ralph Nader. (Oy!)
My life has taken me from Bremerton, Washington to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; from Chicago, Illinois to New York, NY.
What that means is that I have learned lessons.
In Seattle, I fed the homeless and went as far as to have every person at my annual Thanksgiving and Christmas parties make a plate to take to one of the many homeless people that lived within a block or two of me, before I allowed anyone to eat.
In Ft. Lauderdale, I helped victims of Hurricane Andrew rebuild their homes and their lives.
In New York City, I have fed the homeless; I have helped people learn to read; I have given kids money at the holidays for competing in small, nominal athletic events as a disguise for the fact that I was giving them money just to ease the pain of their situation.
Through all of this, I have kept my voice small and quiet, never allowing myself to communicate my commonality with the poor, downtrodden or hopeless.
Then this election cycle comes about and I hear two words used like sticks on the head of a drum: change and hope....
One thing is for certain, I know both.
My favorite quote comes from the coach of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley, in one of his first commercial after taking over the Heat, "Change. Change is inevitable. And when change rears it's beautiful face, you embrace it."
Hope has been a little more difficult to come by.
What is left out of my life of politics and quiet servitude is the simple facts that detail my life.
I am sure that many people have led unfortunate, difficult or terrible lives.
The only thing that seperates them from me is that I have been lucky enough to skip through them to find a voice and a way to communicate for these people.
While my background is important, I don't want that to be the focus of such a post.
Here is why I am involved in politics.....
- Actual lives can be changed. For so long I figured that the most I could do was help one person at a time.
- There is a lot of inequality in America. There is no difference between a poor black man or woman and a poor white man or woman.
- While America has been founded on the idea that we all have an equal opportunity at life, slowly we are seeing that opportunity seep away.
These are three very rudimentary reasons why I am involved in politics, but I know that they motivate many liberals, progressives and Democrats.
And after sitting in on many councils, meetings, and think groups; after listening to all of the candidates; after seeing how people are treated on the streets....I can only ask, are the reasons you are supporting your candidates as pure as your intentions?
I have thought about the person that I support, but when you look at the election in terms of your core values, can you say that you are supporting that person for what is in your heart?