I volunteer every day now at the Obama voter hotline office in Tampa. We handle calls from all over the state related to any type of voter questions or problems. There are usually at least 30 volunteers answering the phones (each armed with a cell phone and laptop), plus numerous staffers and volunteers helping to keep the place running, and a team of lawyers standing by to assist us. Yesterday a small slice of life at the office symbolized a lot to me about what this campaign will mean for the future of our country.
The hotline office is located in a typical brick storefront on the edge of Ybor City, which is the historical area where Tampa got its start and has now been turned into a place where young folks go on weekends to get drunk at one of the many bars and restaurants in the area. The office is right near a major road, and on the other side of the road is the start of a large, low-level public housing complex.
As we were busily working away answering the phones yesterday, a few of us in the front of the office noticed two young African American boys, probably around 11 or 12, pushing their faces up against the front windows and peering at us curiously, with big smiles. We opened the door and welcomed them in.
One of the other volunteers showed them around the office. They asked us for an Obama lawn sign, which we gave them, and also offered them a bottled water from our makeshift cooler (a big garbage can lined with a garbage bag filled with ice - the typical campaign office cooler!). They seemed in awe of the enormous operation going on (I was in awe, too, the first time I stepped in the office).
I thought back to when I was these boys' age, and I got hope for the future of our country. Here these young boys were getting interested in a political campaign long before I ever did, an experience that I'm sure will stay with them for a long time to come. I know it would have made an impression on me at that age. How great to get young people to even be aware of a politics at this young age, let alone take the time to venture into a political campaign office.
When I talked about this incident last night with my partner, who is African American, he said when he was those boys' age he could never have imagined that a black man could become President of the United States. What a positive difference it would have made in his life, he said.
Whatever the outcome of the election on Tuesday, these two young boys now perhaps see some possibilities for their future, and the future of our country, that are much different, and more positive, than what they were envisioning even a few weeks ago. That gives me hope.