PA, How You Disappoint Me
After an insane few weeks of volunteering for the Obama campaign here in my fine city of Pittsburgh, PA the results are in and again, I am disappointed by Pennsylvania. Not that I expected a drastically different result, I am simply disappointed by the fact that the petty politics, senseless dialog surrounding rumors rather than meaningful conversation about real issues, and Hillary television advertisements that inspired a choking reaction in me actually encouraged people to cast the majority of votes for Hillary.
The fact that Pittsburgh, where my wife and I (my wife put in 12+ hour days for about a month) beat the streets, ran a satellite office for our neighborhood, attended and organized countless events came out in a majority support of Barack Obama inspires me to no end. The people we have met who’s paths we would never have otherwise crossed have evolved in what I perceive to be life-long friendships and for that I am so thankful and inspired to battle my apathy towards politics and social action.
Prior to this election neither my wife nor I have been more than educated consumers of politics. Senator Obama has inspired people in ways I never thought possible. The past couple of weeks, as I alluded to above, have been rich with experiences and interactions that have changed my perception of my community and the social and cultural divisions that exist in our everyday life. I believe the American people possess the good will and determination to heal damage we have done, the beginning of which is to simply educate ourselves about the real issues we face as a people and as a global community. I believe Barack Obama has inspired and will continue to perpetuate this very valuable process and I will continue to look forward to and participate in the change that is necessary to further our progress.
Thank you new friends and neighbors for sharing in the efforts over the past couple of months for as Barack Obama has stated on numerous occasions we labor not for him as an individual but for one another and the knowledge that through our joint efforts we will make a difference. Yes We Can!