Vote today!
Whatever candidates you support, exercise your civic rights and duties and get out there and vote! Okay, so now my public service announcement is over, I'll warn you that the rest of this entry is about the rally I went to last night. Those of you who've been reading for a while know that I don't normally use my blog as a soapbox. I may discreetly say whom I'm supporting, but I'm usually not too vocal about it. Having said that, this election seems to be important to a lot of people, myself included, and hearing my candidate was ending his campaign right near me, I couldn't not go; I couldn't not take my kids. If you don't want to read on, then please skip this entry, but please don't knock my candidate in the comments because I'm not knocking yours. I'll be back to regular fiber blogging later this week.
None of my photos of Obama were great as I was dealing with a podium and bright light as well as not being too close, but we were much closer than I had expected to be. I could even see one of the CNN reporters in the press stands, and I could actually tell that it was Barack Obama speaking. We arrived around five and this is the Vote for Change sign around this time:
This is the same sign later:
The unofficial estimates for the night were 80,000 people. I don't do well with crowds and I debated about bringing my girls into these crowds way past their bedtime. In the end, I did. The crowd was wonderfully well-behaved. There was a bit of heckling of the band when Obama was a bit late (they really were more appropriate for a wedding). But, it was a good crowd, despite standing for hours. My girls were asleep on the ground while waiting in the middle of the crowd and people around us warned anyone coming through that there were kids there. No one seemed upset at waiting (a bit of complaining, yes, but it wasn't bad-natured.) People around us chatted. One elderly lady from Europe talked to me a little bit about seeing the end of World War II; she told me she had seen people dragged from their houses when she was about my girls' ages. She was impressed by the diversity of the crowd last night and the unity. She was there because she believed Obama was the diplomat the country needs. Others had other stories. I was there because I hope. I'm very cynical by nature and yet, I want to have hope for the future. I have hope of getting out of a costly war. I have hope of somehow making America a better place for everyone.
I believe he's the one to try and fix this mess we've gotten ourselves in. From what I've seen of him, he tries to surround himself with people that know more about certain issues than he does. His VP pick, for example, knows foreign policy. That's what I think a leader should be, not someone who necessarily knows everything and how to do everything himself (or herself), but someone who will listen to what others think and come to a decision based on several viewpoints.
I'm cynical enough to think that he may not be everything we hope he is. But, for now, he's given me hope. So, last night, we found ourselves in a field with thousands of others because I have hope. We heard Obama speak on the day he lost his grandmother and the day before one of the most historic elections, win or lose.
None of my photos of Obama were great as I was dealing with a podium and bright light as well as not being too close, but we were much closer than I had expected to be. I could even see one of the CNN reporters in the press stands, and I could actually tell that it was Barack Obama speaking. We arrived around five and this is the Vote for Change sign around this time:
This is the same sign later:
The unofficial estimates for the night were 80,000 people. I don't do well with crowds and I debated about bringing my girls into these crowds way past their bedtime. In the end, I did. The crowd was wonderfully well-behaved. There was a bit of heckling of the band when Obama was a bit late (they really were more appropriate for a wedding). But, it was a good crowd, despite standing for hours. My girls were asleep on the ground while waiting in the middle of the crowd and people around us warned anyone coming through that there were kids there. No one seemed upset at waiting (a bit of complaining, yes, but it wasn't bad-natured.) People around us chatted. One elderly lady from Europe talked to me a little bit about seeing the end of World War II; she told me she had seen people dragged from their houses when she was about my girls' ages. She was impressed by the diversity of the crowd last night and the unity. She was there because she believed Obama was the diplomat the country needs. Others had other stories. I was there because I hope. I'm very cynical by nature and yet, I want to have hope for the future. I have hope of getting out of a costly war. I have hope of somehow making America a better place for everyone.
I believe he's the one to try and fix this mess we've gotten ourselves in. From what I've seen of him, he tries to surround himself with people that know more about certain issues than he does. His VP pick, for example, knows foreign policy. That's what I think a leader should be, not someone who necessarily knows everything and how to do everything himself (or herself), but someone who will listen to what others think and come to a decision based on several viewpoints.
I'm cynical enough to think that he may not be everything we hope he is. But, for now, he's given me hope. So, last night, we found ourselves in a field with thousands of others because I have hope. We heard Obama speak on the day he lost his grandmother and the day before one of the most historic elections, win or lose.
Labels: Misc.
posted by Alison at 7:12 AM
4 Comments:
The Chicago song is suddenly going in my head: "We can make it happen, yeah, WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!"
I voted for him. Let's hope we get the chance to change things.
Fingers still crossed, but it's looking good so far tonight!!!!
I'm glad you took your girls for a chance to witness history. I did not vote for Obama, but came close! I am not that disappointed to see him win and I, too, have hope that he can turn things around. I was SO impressed by his acceptance speech. I think it's an exciting time for our country.
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