"The climate has made millions of Americans who haven't been involved in a political campaign ever in their lifetimes very active. We estimate that 70 percent of our grass-roots volunteers haven't worked in a campaign before. . . . We're somewhere just shy of 2 million volunteers, and we think we can potentially triple that on Election Day." - Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand
One of the most amazing aspects of the grassroots movement that grew alongside this campaign is the number of people within it who had never been involved in politics before, had never seen themselves as political or had never known the role that an individual can play. For many of them, this campaign has provided a chance to learn not just about politics, but about their communities and themselves.
Kimberlee from Kentucky explained what she learned from this experience:
I learned I could ask total strangers to vote for a candidate they may never even heard about. I learned about great strength with a local union volunteers. I learned about solidarity and teamwork. I learned that the voices of a few can change a city or a county. I learned how to get past my fears and call people and ask for a vote or donations. I learned you can love total strangers, even some from a different state. I learned how to persuade many people. I learned about sacrificing and donating money to a cause bigger than myself. I learned that change is possible. I learned I could survive eating doughnuts and pizza. ...I learned I had a family on a blog who was always there and where we could pump each other up or just vent. I learned I helped in change... I learned that I could get and liked working in politics. I learned politics wasn't only for my parents.I learned a lot about myself.
What have you learned along the way?
Comments are closed for this post.
