Let me just state right up front that I'm not a natural fit when it comes to phone banking. In fact, as a live-and-let-live kind of person who does pretty much everything he can to avoid confrontation, sometimes I feel as if wild horses couldn't drag me to pick up the phone and call a total - perhaps even hostile - stranger and talk to him or her about what is one of the most personal and private acts a person can perform: voting. I find I can convey my thoughts far better in writing than I can using the spoken word, especially when it comes to something I care so passionately about, which in this case is the re-election of President Barack Obama. I'm always just afraid I'm going to be "bothering" the people I call.
So when I begin to chicken out and tell myself it really doesn't matter if I sit this particular election out, I make myself think of Stacy Lihn. Stacy, for those who may not know her, is a woman who delivered what I felt was the most memorable speech at the Democratic Convention in early September (no disrespect intended, Bubba). Stacy has a young daughter, Zoe, who was born with a congenital heart defect that will require her to undergo three major surgeries to correct the condition. The problem is that, before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies were allowed to place caps on how much money could be spent over the course of a lifetime for an individual patient. By the time she was six months of age, Zoe was already halfway through her lifetime cap. That meant that Zoe's parents would eventually wind up going bankrupt to pay Zoe's bills or that Zoe herself might die. And this is happening in the United States of America, the "richest" country on earth!
Like a lot of people on here, I panic sometimes when I look at the polls, terrified at the thought of a man like Romney winning the election. But then I imagine just how much more terrified Stacy Lihn and others like her must be at that prospect, and that makes me swallow my fears and head to the nearest campaign office to offer my services, calling those total strangers who may not be all that happy to hear from me. But knowing I'm doing it for Stacy, Zoe and the others makes it a whole lot easier.
So, if like me, you hesitate about stepping out and really working your heart out for the President's re-election, think about what it means for Stacy and Zoe. Because for many people, re-electing President Obama really is a matter of life-or-death.
And that child is not going to die, and that family is not going to go bankrupt, if I have anything to say about it (and it turns out I do)!
Here's the video chronicling Stacy and Zoe's story that was shown at the DNC, along with Stacy's heartbreaking speech, in case you haven't already seen it:
