Just nod if you can hear me.....Is anyone at home? Forgive the Pink Floyd...but that song always comes to mind when I am searching for events in my area and ways to be involved in my community.
So, I am taking matters into my own hands and if there is any advice out there or a helping hand I will accept gladly. Today I will be trying to find a place for vounteers to gather in my town of Willis, TX in Montgomery County. I am eyeing the community center and with luck, when I call them today they will allow me the space to to start a Pledge Project Canvass. I've watched all the videos, downloaded all the resouces and all I need is people willing to give four hours. So if I find a suitable place to gather, I will attempt to canvass Willis on Saturday the 22nd.
Let me start by saying that I moved to Willis two months ago from Washington DC to be near my family. I was heavily involved in the presidential primaries and general election there. But I was never the organizer, merely the foot soldier. But I do have a lot of experience, canvassing, phone banking and working the polling areas in DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I know it works. I saw it work in Pennsylvania and Virginia and if people had organized a little earlier in West Virginia, Obama would have taken that state too. We took Virginia in as little as three weeks time and they were hard core Republican. That is the power of getting involved, mobilizing canvassers and informing the voters. People were switching parties. IT WORKS. And it can work for Montgomery County.
Obama's stand on issues will benefit all in Montgomery County. And what I have learned since being here is that most don't know the real issues, are getting their news from Fox, and don't even know why they are Republicans. Knowledge is power, but one has to have the facts as they are and not a spin created to pander to their targeted audience and incite fear. No matter the party affiliation they claim, the majority of the folks in my area are low income and without insurance and have no idea what is happening to our environment.
I have heard enough of the really lame racial jokes, but I suppose that is all they have...and then the jokes are so lame, that everyone forces laughter when they are told. I am tired of hearing the N word around here. The racism in this area is just a means of giving the racist a sense of self empowerment and place to focus their fears, but I know that can be turned around. I know that if they are shown the power of their own voice regarding the very issues that dictate the circumstances of their lives, that the knowlegde will replace the feeling of uncertainty and alleviate fears. OK, not all, maybe not most, but you cant blame a girl for trying.
My goal is to show the folks in my area that they are the government and this is their country. They have a say. And I want to help them claim it, by giving them voice, by informing them, by getting them involved. So this blog is my diary. Wish me luck.
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