Getting Involved in Politics

Tweet

Like most people, I have only rarely been involved in a political campaign. Usually it has only happened locally, when I had a friend running for school board or something like that. Until recently, the only time I was involved in a political campaign was when Ross Perot ran in the early 1990s. He was a member of our church in Dallas. He and his wife invited church members to their home many times, and they were very active in church activities. When he ran for president, I doubted he could win, but I volunteered in his office, answering phones, anyway. He was a very gracious loser and threw a big party, even though he knew he was losing on election night. I was never involved in a political campaign again until two years ago, when my husband and I switched from supporting our Congresswoman who belonged to one party, and chose to support her competitor from the opposite party. It was a major change for us. Both candidates used my husband's photos in their advertisements, so he had to ask our former Congresswoman to stop using the ads that featured his photo, because we were now supporting her opponent. We were pleased when the opposing candidate won, with our support. Since she only won by a small margin, some of my friends have given my husband and me credit for making the difference, especially since my husband switched his support, we hosted several major events for her, made hundreds of phone calls, wrote post cards, made homemade signs, and sent out text messages, because she had a very small campaign budget. Her success made me realize that just a few people can make a big difference in politics. Now that I am in my 70s, I am surprised at how much I enjoy working on a political campaign. On a recent Zoom campaign meeting with our new Congresswoman, who is now running again, I chatted with a few young college students who are also working on her campaign. I told them that I hoped they were just as enthusiastic and interested in politics in another 50 years, when they are in their 70s, too. Two of our four daughters are now also involved in local and state politics in their communities. I am so proud that I raised a couple of enthusiastic activists! I think that no matter our age or political affiliation, it is important to feel that we can make a difference in our neighborhood and in our country. (The photo above is my husband and me, along with Katie Porter, the new U.S. Representative we now support.)