Sun was setting over Jersey when I slowed down long enough to digest the numbers: $33 million from 258,000 individuals. My pizza man thanked me for his Barack shirt www.atthatdrop.com/shirts . A previously skeptical neighbor gave me one of those nods I got in Little League after stepping up to the plate and actually managing to hit the ball. A guy from the Stanford Young Republicans even asked to be my friend on Facebook. Nice to be on a winning team. Ya know?
While Obama was becoming the Democratic heir apparent, our true opponent lay dormant. She watched quietly as we shook the trees and waved our Obama 08 signs. Break away from cyberspace long enough to give voter registration a shot and you will surely encounter our true adversary: apathy.
Till a few months ago, apathy had her claws securely clenched around my neck. I have never even voted in a presidential primary. Till a few months ago, a candidate who had not secured his party’s nomination was about as significant to me as a Publisher’s Clearing House letter. Till a few months ago, I believed I had little to no personal stake in presidential elections.
As February 5th juggernauts towards us, each sunset asks:
How do we get others to find a personal stake in the primaries?
We eat because we have a personal stake in satisfying our hunger.
We know they are hungry.
Giving people a personal stake in voting in the primaries means giving them a reason to believe they have something to gain by voting. Sounds simple enough. Right?
Granted more people vote for American Idol than for the President of the United States. I myself have proudly never voted for American Idol so I couldn’t tell you what people gain from voting. My apathy towards American Idol is not about feeling superior to the phenomenon. I’ve just never been invested in the outcome.
Few hours ago, a friend just asked me:
Silence.
I outwit the question by asking myself if I could be doing more to mobilize people. And now, I sit here deliberating. Brooding. Strategizing. Searching for answers to questions I used to care less about; till a few months ago…
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