Yesterday I canvassed with another senior in one of the most republican, self-satisfied counties in Florida. As a matter of fact everyone who canvassed yesterday or came to the staging area to make phone calls were well over 55. It was an exciting and uplifting experience. We spoke to mainly older citizens but some younger, and their enthusiasm for Obama was unquestioned. Our job was to encourage their support and get them to vote early. We left most of the doors seeing people with big smiles and their fingers crossed--for the Obama win.
Then today, I forced myself to watch McCain on Meet the Press. His befuddled and snarky interview with Brokaw disgusted me, once again. So, I went to Home Depot to buy annuals--yes, this is planting time in Florida. While there an older couple asked me some questions about the flowers and we started a pretty innocuous conversation--which turned into a history lesson and a mini Obama rally all by itself. They were each 91 years old with a lot of political history between them and had been married for 70 years. When I said I was working for Obama, their faces lit up and they couldn't wait to tell me they were voting for Obama and were trying to convince their "older" children to do the same. Alice told me she told her daughter that she wouldn't visit them until after Obama had won the election--"I was being a little mean," she admitted. Both Alice and her hubby, a former steel worker, Frank, said they had never been so excited about an election and said "we are so lucky to have him in this terrible time." They spoke of FDR and how their parents were so afraid of the programs he was creating--only because "change" in a time of crisis can be fearful. They spoke of the hope they felt when Kennedy was elected and how we "of that age" still grieve for what was lost way back in 1963. Just before we parted company, each of us filled with hope for the future of our country, Alice looked at Henry and said "we'll have to get something a little stronger to drink for the celebration." He smiled at her and said "yes--let's do that now!"
Just as the Repugs have tried to divide Americans on every issue from patriotism to accusations of Democratic "socialism," from class, to region, to race, they also have attempted to divide Americans by generation primarily in the name of Social Security--youth paying in while baby boomers scarf it up. The fear card was played yet again so that they could privatize social security--and the fear card was meant to divide the young from the old, yet another wedge issue. In this vast country, that is a another division we cannot afford. Barack Obama is speaking to all of us, calling us together, to be one strong and resilient people. He is giving those of us who care to listen the gift ofHOPE for ourselves and our children and our grandchildren. This is not about the economy, 40lks, or even social security. It is about the promise of America for all of its citizens. This is what wingnut republicans will never understand. Pity the vanquished? or Not.
Now, if you have time, please look at this 11 minute video at http://bravenewfilms.org/... made for Seniors for Obama. It is full of sweetness, guts, wisdom, truth and lots of hope for the future of our country. And, many happy returns to Alice and Henry on their 70th wedding anniversary! They obviously made my day, and gave me even more hope.