Stand By Your Man

Or can you? At least in a visible way?

Tonight, after much debating we put an Obama for President sign in our yard. And I’m really nervous about having done this.

Let me back up. I love Texas. I really do. I’m not a native Texan but given my choice, I’ll probably live here until I retire to a beach in South Carolina. But I am ashamed of how close-minded and shall we say, judgmental many of the residents of this state are. I do think that many people around here don’t use their brains a lot of the time, especially when it comes to matters of politics. Now, I’m not attacking anyone. I just think that some folks need to actually educate themselves on issues and the platforms of candidates before backing or dismissing them. This goes for both political parties. Just because your daddy’s daddy’s daddy’s daddy voted Democrat should not be the sole reason you vote for a Democrat. That’s not reason enough. Every voter’s responsibility is to educate themselves, via multiple sources to minimize bias, on the issues to determine what really matters to them before they cast a ballot. If you can’t or won’t do that, then you are unqualified to vote. Yes, I said it and I mean it. I don’t believe that straight party voting should even be legal. But I’ll get off my soapbox now because that’s not the point of this post and I’m already treading into dangerous political waters and my blog is not about politics. Plus my blood pressure is rising and it’s too late at night for that.

So now we’ve got this yard sign. In a neighborhood where we’ve already been targeted by some acts of minor vandalism. In a neighborhood where I suspect that many folks would fall over dead if a black man became president.

But we finally had to say, fuck it. We have every right to express our support for our candidate, just like the McCain supporters. And isn’t the point of living in the US to enjoy the freedoms we hold dear, in this case to say what we want, support who we want, and not be persecuted for it? So we are making a stand and taking a chance that no one will damage or tear down our sign.

But I bought two, just in case. Come on, there is a difference between optimism and stupidity.

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Huh Huh… I Said “Caucus”

Yep, we just caucused. That’s a funny word. Kinda sounds dirty but it’s not. Speaking of kind of dirty words, did you know that in England, the word “kellogs” is slang for a man’s testicles? I never knew that. I love that most of my work colleagues are in the UK - it’s like a whole new world of salty language.

It was a completely new experience. I’ve never voted in a primary before, because normally the nominees are good and decided by the time Texas holds its primary. I’m not an apathetic voter but it’s been hard to get excited about voting when you are the minority in your state. Thanks to the electoral college, it just seems like a waste of time. I know that voting is not a waste of time, so please no lectures about how sacred the right to vote is. But when you know that your voice is really not being heard, it makes you wonder why you bothered to speak up. I always will speak up but you get my meaning. However, the primary process this year has been so inspiring, it has really made me feel hopeful about the future of the country and it has made me so excited to participate in the process.  No matter who the nominee is, I really hope that the rest of the election and the new administration can continue to foster this spirit that is rampant right now.

Let’s keep the spirit of change going! There are a lot of things that need changing and healing. I have hope that it can happen.

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A First For Me

Yesterday I went and voted in the Texas Democratic Primary. I have never voted in a primary before. I thought it would be different, with the Republicans and the Democrats kept separate to avoid coming to fisticuffs. I like that word, fisticuffs. You don’t get much call to use the word “fisticuffs” enough in casual conversation. Anyway…. No, it was just like any other election I’ve voted in. Although I don’t know that I’ve ever voted on election day. I try to avoid the crowds and I refuse to travel to where my official precinct voting location is, so I vote early, which allows me to vote at any polling location in Dallas County. I go to the civic center in the town where I grew up. I’m a snob like that. I won’t even go to Downtown Garland to vote. Ick.

Although I did get to proudly state, when asked by the older gentleman manning the table, that I was here to vote in the DEMOCRATIC primary. He was completely unimpressed and just went about the business of printing off whatever documents they print off. But I know inside he was proud of me too.

Today I got a call from a pollster, asking if I were to vote today in the Texas Democratic primary, who would I vote for? I answered Obama. Then she asked me if I was planning to vote on March 4 and I replied that I had already voted. She practically hung up on me. Do you think that was maybe a Clinton campaign worker realizing I was a lost cause to her?

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Cock-Blocked at the Obama Rally

Sigh.  What a day.

We found out that Barack Obama was holding a rally today at Reunion Arena. We decided to be crazy and pack up Bridget and go. Sure, we figured, it would be a mad house and she’d probably get cranky or hungry or tired or otherwise toddlerish. But in 30 years would we remember that she cried a lot, or would we remember going to the event? Decision made.

We arrived to see a line wrapped 437 times around the arena (only a slight exaggeration) but we decided to park and chance it. We followed the line and the slew of volunteers across the street and into the parking garage, then up and up and up and finally up some more. We joined the end of the line on the top level of the parking garage. I can honestly say that I have never seen a line that long in my life. I was immediately discouraged and was trying to get Jake to leave, very subtly. I mean, I was hungry and it seemed fairly obvious that we were not going to get inside for this thing. But he convinced me to stay. Eventually the line did start to move and we meandered our way down the ramps of the parking garage. We were picking up steam and enthusiasm as we got to the bottom and started to approach the arena. We were so close! The doors! We could see the doors! We were at the doors!

And then they locked the doors right in our faces. Literally we would have been the next ones inside. Some jackasses behind us actually leap-frogged over Bridget’s stroller and made it inside somehow. But we didn’t.  We were left standing outside pathetically hoping the flingin’ flangin’ Fire Marshall would decide that 17,002 people was actually the right number of people. Alas, it was not in the cards for us.

I’d be really disappointed but I’m glad we went and were part of the process. We didn’t get in but we did make it known just how many supporters Obama has in Dallas. And it was really amazing to see how many people were there and how many different types of people were there. Yes, there were a lot of African-Americans but there were also whites, Hispanics, Asians. The crowd was young and very old, men and women. There were tons of kids from local schools who were bused in to be part of the event. Even though we were cock-blocked, it was still an exciting and amazing day.

And in case you were wondering? Bridget was a dream the whole time. She sat in her stroller, she chewed on a teether, she drank some juice, had a snack and flirted and waved at everyone around us. God, I love that kid.

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For the Barack Supporters

Want to watch something that will give you chills? Go here. Trust me.

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Change We Can Believe In

Just sitting here watching Barack Obama’s victory speech in South Carolina. You all know I’m not a political blogger at all. But I am so moved by this candidate, I just can’t contain myself. I’ve never been this invested in an election in my life. Jake suggested that this is the first election in my voting life that has someone that inspires and brings hope. He’s absolutely right. I’ve never had any hope before that any candidate was actually different.

This time is different. I truly believe Obama is a statesman, not a politician. I have so much hope for this candidate. So much hope for this country. I’m watching him speak, and I have chills and tears in my eyes.

It feels good to have hope again.

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