Doing My Bit

A woman from my town has announced that she is running for Congress. She's been a State Rep for awhile and had planned to pursue a different office until the very recent redistricting for Pennsylvania made this campaign a viable option.

I don't know her personally, but she's been a good State Rep, a lifelong resident of this little town Near Philadelphia, and is a member of the church next-door to mine. And she's of my political persuasion. She's saying the right things and I'm eager to hear  more. So I've filled out an on-line form and contacted someone connected with her campaign to see how I might volunteer to work for her election.

I've never been very active politically, and I think that's part of the problem that led me to this decision. A year and a half ago, I expressed some concern about Trump vs. Clinton to someone far more savvy than I am, and that woman assured me, "Don't worry. Hillary's going to win." So I didn't worry. And I didn't do anything more than vote. Now I'm thinking I was complacent in the face of such high stakes. I don't mean to imply that I think I could have persuaded someone set on voting for the opposition to vote for Mrs. Clinton, not that at all. But perhaps I could have been a part of motivating someone who didn't vote at all to have voted.

I'm convinced that this 2018 election is going to be an important one. So I'm going to work for this woman's campaign. I remember how much I loved the 2008 primary when I did data entry for Mr. Obama. I went for an hour or two almost every day after work at my day job. It was exhilarating to be around all the optimistic young people working for Hope and Change. I'm looking forward to experiencing that again. And also to saying, "I'm With Her."