Well, it sounds like I can be a worthless human being for another week or two. Still no assignment for the general election. Although it’s been nice catching up on some seriously needed sleep. I’d almost forgotten what a life not fueled by energy drinks was like. It’s kind of funny though because when I’m working I’m dying to relax and now that I can mimic the cat all day I’m itching to get out and organize. Give me a county and some phone numbers! Where do I get voter registration forms?!
Uggh. Voter registration. Not my favorite task. The pressure of needing to get 50 new voters registered per day in NC for a couple weeks wore me down a little.
So anyway, I’m a Field Organizer for the Obama campaign. I got hired in April and worked in North Carolina. Before that I was a travelling super volunteer in South Carolina, San Diego, Virginia, Texas, and Mississippi. I must say that first big win in SC was awfully satisfying. Caucusing in Iowa and beaming with joy that night at the shocking results was great, but being down in SC was a whole different animal.
Getting out in communities and working with the locals is an experience like no other. I’ve gotten the chance to canvass neighborhoods all across the spectrum. My times in the South were especially enlightening. In both Carolinas I got the chance to spend time in some pretty rural and impoverished areas. I’ve been in places that look like they’ve been left behind by time. Neighborhoods where every other house is boarded up and you meet kids who have no reason whatsoever to hope. As corny as it sounds, those experiences reinforce that what I’m doing is valuable.
Frequently, I’ll knock on a door and be asked if I really think Obama can make a difference as President. I say that I can’t guarantee he’ll make improvements that’ll reach to wherever I am at the time, but he’s our best chance. He’s our best chance at taking back our country and making our government work for us. As a young man that sees much in his country he’d like to change, I can’t help but hope.
Obamanite out.
