Thursday, August 26, 2004
My First Political Activism Experience
Last night I took my 10 year old son to a MoveOn meeting in Center City Philadelphia. They are organizing a GOTV initiative called, "Leave No Voter Behind." Volunteers will canvas suburban neighborhoods and phone registered Dems and Independents to make sure they'll head to the polls on Election Day. In some cases we'll recruit new volunteers to spread the word about John Kerry in their neighborhoods.
We did a little role playing with the phone script and I shared mine with a guy sitting near me. We each took a turn being the caller and then they asked for two volunteers to do it in front of the entire group. (Did I mention there were about 250 people there?) My partner's hand shot up and we ended up doing it before everyone. We agreed I would be a difficult phone call recipient. I didn't disappoint. Took me back to my days in theatre. Fun.
Another enjoyable part of the evening was sharing it with my son. He knows how his parents feel about the, "Shrub" but we also talked about the importance of exercising our right to vote every chance we get and that people all over fight very hard for this right. It was a valuable experience for both of us, I look forward to him joining me on the 'campaign trail.'
It was inspiring to be around so many people who are united in their efforts to get Kerry elected. And I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, as it's in my blood. When I was seven or eight I went with my mother to NOW marches where she was an active member. Before I was born she marched on the Papal Embassy in Washington in support of women's reproductive rights. She occasionally visits my blog and has even gone through my blogroll. Thanks for setting a great example.
The MoveOn meetings are being held all over the country. If you're interested, go here to find the closest organizational meeting.
Get involved!
| Permalink Here
Last night I took my 10 year old son to a MoveOn meeting in Center City Philadelphia. They are organizing a GOTV initiative called, "Leave No Voter Behind." Volunteers will canvas suburban neighborhoods and phone registered Dems and Independents to make sure they'll head to the polls on Election Day. In some cases we'll recruit new volunteers to spread the word about John Kerry in their neighborhoods.
We did a little role playing with the phone script and I shared mine with a guy sitting near me. We each took a turn being the caller and then they asked for two volunteers to do it in front of the entire group. (Did I mention there were about 250 people there?) My partner's hand shot up and we ended up doing it before everyone. We agreed I would be a difficult phone call recipient. I didn't disappoint. Took me back to my days in theatre. Fun.
Another enjoyable part of the evening was sharing it with my son. He knows how his parents feel about the, "Shrub" but we also talked about the importance of exercising our right to vote every chance we get and that people all over fight very hard for this right. It was a valuable experience for both of us, I look forward to him joining me on the 'campaign trail.'
It was inspiring to be around so many people who are united in their efforts to get Kerry elected. And I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, as it's in my blood. When I was seven or eight I went with my mother to NOW marches where she was an active member. Before I was born she marched on the Papal Embassy in Washington in support of women's reproductive rights. She occasionally visits my blog and has even gone through my blogroll. Thanks for setting a great example.
The MoveOn meetings are being held all over the country. If you're interested, go here to find the closest organizational meeting.
Get involved!
| Permalink Here
