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Kristen E. Law: Our work has just begun.
Submitted by Howard2 on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 - 16:51
Friends: The piece below gives me some measure of hope and peace of mind, so I thought I'd pass it along. Our work has just begun. Best wishes for brighter days and strength for the journey ahead. Kristen E. Law San Francisco CA Subject: Epilogue I am en route back to Austin and as I look over the clouds I am reflecting on the past few days and trying to muster up some optimism. I am assuming that while I'm on this plane Kerry will concede the election. We have lost. First, I want to share with you what I witnessed yesterday. I was a designated "voting rights advocate" for the Dem party at a precinct in northwestern Cleveland. It was a 100% African American community and generally poor. Most of the neighborhood uses public transportation and gets around on foot. My fellow volunteers and I arrived at the poll at 6:30am. There was already a long line. I watched elderly men and women and mothers and children stand in the pouring rain holding on to one another. They were so optimistic and hopeful. They stood there with their "People of faith for Kerry" and "Working people for Kerry" buttons. Some of them sang to pass the time. Children cried and moms said it would be over soon. They were reminding each other to push the stylus in hard so their punch card ballot would be counted. They repeatedly said, "we can't have another Florida." When they finished voting they proudly put the "I voted" sticker on their lapels and began walking home in the pouring down rain. When the precinct ran out of stickers at noon, people became very upset. What would they tell their co-workers, their pastor? What would they tell their children? What would they tell their boss? They wanted to be sure everyone knew they had voted and that they had voted for John Kerry. The overriding issue for the people I met and saw in Cleveland was the need for a living wage and a little respect. They wanted someone who understood that in this country you can work 12 hour days (or more) and still live in poverty. They wanted to see an increase in minimum wage and better access to healthcare. Most of them were wearing uniforms. They were postal workers, mechanics, firemen, cashiers, nurses, waitresses and maids. Sometimes I felt silly being there demonstrating to these voters how to use the ballot and reminding them that they could use another ballot if they messed up, etc... They knew what they were doing and what they had to do. Most of them had been voting for 30-50 years. They were all inconveniencing themselves and being inconvenienced more than I will ever be as a voter. Would I walk 15 blocks to the polls in the pouring rain carrying two children? Did I have that much personally at stake in this election or any election? I know the answer to that question was and likely will forever be "no." Yes, I did feel I made a small difference. I told a young woman that her 74 year old diabetic and ailing mother could vote from her car. The young woman raced home and got her mom. She wouldn't have voted otherwise b/c she couldn't stand for long periods. I escorted the polling officials to the car so she could cast her ballot. I sent a young man back in who had been denied a provisional ballot b/c the address on his voter registration was different from the one on the registration rolls. He had recently moved back in with his parents. He came out an hour later with a big thumbs up and gave me a hug. I sent a young girl off in a pre-paid taxi to go home and get her passport and try to vote again b/c she was denied the right to vote b/c her state issued ID had a different name on it than her registration card. She was a brand new voter and they had gotten her name wrong on her registration card. She needed two forms of ID to prove it, or so they said. Very few people in this neighborhood have a drivers license. She came back 30 min later in a cab holding her passport and smiling. I begged a mother to stay in the line even though her kids were crying. I found another young woman in the library to watch her children so they wouldn't have to stand with her in the rain. She stayed and voted. I showed several young new voters how to use the ballot so they would feel confident and relaxed. They were so excited and took the demonstration very seriously. So, now here I am and it is 11:15 am on Wednesday. I have a choice. We have a choice. I can crawl into myself and build a wall and feed my anger, frustration and pain. I can start eating Ben & Jerry's for dinner again and just say, "screw it. people suck. what is the point?" Or I can remember all the good things I learned about people over the past few days. I can think about all the proud union dads with their daughters and sons up on their shoulders waiting 5 hours in a massive crowd to see John Kerry. I can think about the marine in Warren who'd lost an arm in Iraq and who spoke so eloquently about his sacrifice. I can think about all those voters waiting in line in the rain demonstrating such pride and faith and optimism about our nation and system despite all the schemes to suppress their vote they'd read about in the paper. This election was about them. Their future was and is at stake. They have lost a great deal more than I - we -likely will in my -our- lifetime. And yet I feel certain they are all out today greeting each other on the side walk with a smile and racing to catch the bus to work singing a song in their head. They'll be in church Sunday praising God for his mighty blessings. And they will say the pledge of allegiance with as much conviction as they did yesterday. They will go on just as they have so many times before. Just like the woman that was unmoved by the statements of an ignorant cop, these people know who they are. They know they are good, loving, patriotic people who love America as much as the next guy. They know they work hard. They know they deserve better. They know we all pray to the same God. They know they love their children. And they know a better day will come. And so we must too. So, we don't have the power to change the course of our country today. We DO have the power to choose to settle for changing and impacting the lives of those that we can. I helped a handful of voters cast their ballots Tuesday. What will I be doing tomorrow? Evvie Evelyn Nazro Public Strategies, Inc.
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