LJ Idol - Week 13 - Current Events (Revisited)
This is not an essay about politics.
It is a piece about passion. And people. And the amazing American right to peaceably assemble, to protest, to promote.
Super Tuesday is upon us. Across the nation presidential hopefuls and their supporters are making a last minute push for votes. From the red rocks of Arizona to the red clay of Georgia, from North Dakota to West Virginia, Arkansas to Alaska, candidates are canvassing, sipping coffee in diners, shaking hands and snuggling babies. But more importantly, their supporters are out in droves, waving banners and knocking on doors, raising money and awareness for the nominee - and the vision of America - they believe is best.
The year I turned 18, the first year I could legally vote, was a presidential election year. I went out and cast my ballot but I’ve been a reluctant participant in the political process ever since. Fueled by frustration, disappointment, and finally apathy, I’ve eyed the media circus surrounding elections with annoyance and dragged my feet to the polls, feeling that my little vote didn’t count for much in the grand scheme of things.
But not this year.
This year has been an amazing wakeup call for me. This landmark election full of fascinating candidates and issues that affect my life. Big government feels as cold as the marble halls where it is practiced, far removed from my brick hearth existence, but this year there is a fire burning beneath those halls. A grassroots wildfire sparked by the passion of millions of Americans willing to spread a message they believe in.
I’m a Ron Paul supporter and, as the media attempts to ignore his very existence, the only effort we have is grassroots! But it isn’t just the work on his behalf that makes me proud of America again.
It’s the Deadheads spinning in San Francisco tonight for Barack Obama at a Grateful Dead concert. The band, sans Jerry Garcia, reunited for the first time in years in Obama’s honor.
It’s the “Bring Your Own Phone” or “BYOP” parties held across the country this past weekend for Hillary Clinton, where her supporters are encouraging everyone who will listen to open their cell phones and their hearts and call the folks in their contact list to encourage them to vote.
It’s the Evangelical’s promoting Huckabee from the pulpits of tiny churches on sunny Sabbath days and from their webpages too. It's Mitt Romney’s grassroots supporters sending emails and military veterans rallying for McCain on his homepage. The Internet is certainly playing a big part in the election this year, uniting supporters and strengthening candidate's messages.
I feel a rush of emotion, of pride and hope, each day when I drive by our local courthouse and see supporters of different candidates rallying to wave banners and hand out fliers. This election has cured the political apathy of many Americans.
Tomorrow morning I will get up, put on my Ron Paul tee with its “Hope for America” logo and head to the polls. As I stand in line to cast my ballot, I will be moved by how lucky we are to live in a country where we can voice our dreams and our discontent. How lucky to have the right to support a new leader without fear of reproach or violence. How lucky we are, despite her imperfections, to live in the United States.
This year I am proud to share my passion and be a part of the political process.
I hope that you will get involved as well.
Feel excited, feel determined, feel angry, just feel something and then use that to affect a change.