As part of a continuing series, we're following Obama Organizing Fellows as they share their stories and their experiences. They discuss the people they meet, the hardships of organizing, what the campaign means to them, and how this summer is changing their perspective.
Laura is an Organizing Fellow in St. Louis, Missouri. Her stories appear each Tuesday.
At my Platform meeting last night, a tenth grader, two teachers, two former Republicans, a few life long Democrats, and a diverse group of other supporters came together to discuss the issues they cared about. But they also discussed a lot more: namely, their experiences as people who feel somewhat silenced in their own communities here in St. Louis County. The county is odd that way. There are like-minded people living all around but it is hard to find one another without something like a political campaign to bring them together. But then, we might ask, why haven't they found each other in the past few elections? And the answer is because, as we are discovering again and again, this is more than just a campaign for the Democratic Party; this is a movement focused on changing something larger than ourselves. The people that arrived last night were not necessarily "Big D" Democrats but rather people who were seeking a better life for themselves, for their children, and for others; though the common ground was that they all believed Obama had the power to do that, each of them brought with them their own set of hesitations and concerns about the next step. One man admitted that once he came out of poverty and found a well-paying job, he felt angry about having to pay taxes and didn't want to. He actually told this to the Senator at a fund-raiser and Obama said to him that though he would definitely raise his taxes, the money would be put to good use. Another man stated that he had never cared about politics and had always voted Republican until his son started doing a paper about the candidates during the primary, and he became fascinated with Obama and his stance on issues. He was there, however, to really discuss what these issues were and how Obama should address them going forward. People did not shy away from discussing some of the more important issues at stake in our country. There was no hiding the fact that many are suffering and that we must make every effort to change that. We discussed how severely their schools have suffered under No Child Left Behind and how our veterans are not given the education they were promised. We discussed energy, human rights, and foreign policy. The meeting was heavy in a lot of ways, but it was also very honest. Barack wrote in The Audacity of Hope, "A government that truly represents Americans - that truly serves Americans - will require a different kind of politics...It wont be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past...And we will need to remind ourselves, despite our differences, just how much we share, common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break." The meeting focused on these "darker aspects," not only of our past but also of today. However, it was among this discussion that we "reminded ourselves" just how much we cared. We all want to do better, and we will.
Check back next week for more from Laura in St. Louis, Missouri, and visit our Flickr page for more of her photos.
There are still nearly 900 platform meetings remaining over the next six days- click here to find one near you, and take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to offer your input on the 2008 Democratic Party Platform.
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