This year marks my first excursion into political activism.
I have watched from the sidelines all my life. I've always had strong political opinions, but I've always avoided airing them outside of circles of friends. I've always voted, but never contributed or worked for a campaign. I was in the "what can one person do?" camp.
One of my resolutions this year is to talk more about my support for Obama with people I meet casually, just to try to spread the word every bit I can.
I'm writing this diary to others who might be in the same position. You're a little shy with strangers. You avoid confrontation. Yes you can. You can make a difference. Today, I moved a low-information voter one little step toward voting for Obama. I'm not a hero. I didn't make much difference. What will make a difference is if we all do a little bit more than we have ever done before.
Update:
Cool. My first Rec List Diary. A big thank you to all who rec'd and commented. One of the great things about dKos is the ability it gives all of us to support each other with information and encouragement as we work together.
I was getting a hair cut. The woman cutting my hair was late teens/early twenties. We were making polite chit-chat. She didn't know what she was going to do with her vacation. "Stay local," she thought, "with the price of gas what it is."
I sympathised and said it was getting hard.
"What can you do?" she said.
The conversation died for a little while. In past years I would have left it there. We all know that there isn't much we can do in the short run about gas prices, but we also know that one candidate will give people like her tax relief and the other will not. One candidate will work to give her health-insurance, which I'm sure her job does not. One candidate will end the war in Iraq and invest money saved here in America. The other will not. One candidate will have intelligent economic advisors and will listen to them with discernment. The other will become a Phil Graham sock-puppet on the economy. The list goes on.
I did something I wouldn't have done before. I restarted the conversation.
Me: So, Are you paying any attention to the election yet.
Her: No. My boyfriend is really into it, but I'm not. I know it matters to me, but its all so confusing.
Me: Who's your boyfriend supporting? (Trying to understand what other messages she's hearing)
Her: Well, he was backing Clinton, but now he's for ... (Pause, with me fearing the worst)
Her: Obama, is that how you say his name? (The pause was because she was trying to remember the name of the new guy)
Me: Yes
Her: My boyfriend really doesn't like McCain.
Me: I'm actually volunteering a little bit for Obama. I think he can make a big difference.
Her: Yeah, we really need some change, and McCain's just like Bush.
Me: (Thinking that the campaign talking points are there, but I want to add some subtlety) "There are some things where McCain disagrees with Bush, but his economic policies would be more of the same.
Her: Yeah.
Me: I started this conversation because I'm a political junkie, and I wanted to get some idea of what people thought who weren't paying as much attention.
Her: Yeah, I see things because my boyfriend has the TV on all the time, but I don't really understand it and he gets annoyed when I ask questions.
At this point, other than wanting to tell her to get a new boyfriend, I was thinking about what to tell her to increase the chances that she would actually go to the polls on Nov. 4th.
Me: You know, you should really circle August 28th on your calendar. That's the day Obama will accept the nomination, and give a speech. He's the best public speaker I've seen, and if he can't get you excited about the election, no one can.
Her: Yeah, I've seen him a few times. I really like the way he seems so natural, and has some humor mixed in. He's not too serious.
The conversation drifted off from there.
My conclusion.
Baby Steps for me and for her, but baby steps are important.
I took one more step past my reticence to share my beliefs with strangers. She heard someone other than her Boyfriend (who may not last till November if he keeps ignoring her IMHO) talk positively and knowledgably about Obama. She got a little immunization against McCain claims that he really does disagree with Bush, and she got a message that she should pay attention when Obama speaks at the Convention.
Would I re-do the conversation exactly the same way next time? No. It's a learning process. Will she vote for Obama? I don't think she'll vote for McCain, but she may not turn up at the polls. (Damn, I should have asked her if she was registered.) Did I make a difference? A little bit.
If we all make a little bit of difference, together we can change the world. Please do one thing for a progressive candidate this election that you have never done before. Stretch yourself a little. I am, and it feels great!
Update 2:
CT has on-line forms. I now have some in my car. For all states: long distance voter