Organizing for America | Mary Maddux's Blog: My Voice.

My Voice.

By Mary Maddux - May 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm EDT

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

I appreciated being asked for my feedback by the Obama campaign today.

Here's how I answered the following questions:

Describe why you were moved to join the campaign:

I feel strongly that things have to change. I am greatly concerned by the disparity I see between the haves and the have nots. I like in Tiburon, CA. One of the wealthiest towns in the wealthiest counties in the wealthiest states in the wealthiest countries but I still go to the laundry mat and now only make $17.50 an hour. I have a college degree have made more than $50,000 annually in the past. I have a husband who makes over $70,000 w/o whom I couldn't work 30 hours a week as a child advocate. I spent 5 years struggling to meet the demands of my employer and to have enough left over to care for myself and my son. Despite all of my advantages, being from a white, middle-class family, I struggled and failed repeatedly. I couldn't have done it w/o help and support from others. There are many in much more desperate situations. We can't turn our back on people who are struggling, children living and dying in poverty. Fighting people we disagree w/only makes them hate us more in my view. I admire Barack's willingness to talk with leaders from other parts of the world, if we help them address their hopeless, frustration and desperation, maybe they will be less angry. I agree that there is an empathy deficit in this country and I want to turn that around.

Tell us about the best part of your volunteer experience, and also about what could be most improved:

The house meeting I attended was enjoyable, the hostess was welcoming, engaging, articulate and lovely as were most of the attendees. I wish I had more time to spend with them but it felt a bit like we were preaching to the choir. It was a big deal for me to take time out of my weekend, the leave my husband and child at home to go volunteer for Obama and at the end of the meeting, I felt I hadn't done anything. I did learn that I could give lots more time and that if I had money, I could buy materials, that I could make calls, etc.

But I'd recently started work at an organization where we train and recruit people from the community to spend time w/kids who are dependents of the court, kids who sometimes have no one. I'd just agreed to be a volunteer advocate for a seven-year-old boy who lives in residential treatment and didn't have anyone visiting him. I figured if I was going to spend time on the weekends away from my family, volunteering, I should be actually doing something to address the issues I see in our society.

What if 1% of Obama supporters agreed to be Court Appointed Special Advocates for children and every weekend, instead of making phone calls, were spending time with a youth who needed them - because it is the right thing to do and because they support Obama. Or what if they were beautifying cities, or visiting shut-ins, or raising money to find cures for diseases. Wouldn't that also support Obama? I have donated money to this campaign and feel it is the right thing to do. I am hopeful that if I can help Obama get elected, he will make more money available where it is needed but I would rather give directly where it is needed and have him win on principle, because he wants to do the right thing, his supporters are doing the right thing and leading by example. Thanks for asking supporters to consider donating to help victims of the recent disasters in Asia. That Obama supporters are giving to the Red Cross means more to me than that we are giving to an election campaign. Does that make any sense? Thanks so much for asking and considering.

And, I was moved by the video that played after I sent in my thoughts. I almost teared up when he said, "Your voice can change the world."

Reader Comments	Comments RSS
Comments are closed for this post.

No comments have been written yet.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.