Since the middle of July, my home-away-from-home has been the Hillary Campaign Office. I have been spend¬ing as many of my waking hours there as possible.
There are so many reasons why I am volunteering for Hillary. I believe in what she believes in – taking care of our children and families; paid sick-leave for working parents; affordable healthcare; debt-free college; a strong and secure nation.
I am a life-long Democrat who has always voted but never got involved. My husband was a career military officer, and we moved every three to four years. I could not vote in local elections, so I only voted in presidential elections and could not tell you who my city-councilors were, or my state legislators.
Because of my involvement in the LGBT community, I have gotten to know local and state legislators.
I have organized rallies and testified at statewide referendums. I feel that I have a stake in local and state elections, as well as what goes on at the national level.
Additionally, much of what has driven me during this campaign comes from the people I am working with at the Hillary campaign office. Many of us began working together during the Primary, and we came back together for the Main Show! We spend every day making phone calls and interacting with people who come in who want to work for Hillary.
I would say that our office is a microcosm of what Hillary’s campaign is about – diversity. I remember one Sunday afternoon of phone banking with African- Americans, women, Latinos, someone from India, a Muslim woman in a headscarf, gays, Jews – it reminded me of being at the DNC, only on a smaller scale!
So many different people are coming out for Hillary because they know that she cares about them!
As a woman, I take this election very personally. Hillary is three years older than me, and of my generation. We both grew up at a time when women were not encouraged to succeed; when I took off my engagement ring when I went on a job interview; when I was asked at one interview how bad my cramps were every month.
Even though Hillary has come such a long way, she is still being treated as a second-class citizen by too many people. She is still being judged by her gender, despite the fact that she has far exceeded what so many men have done!
I myself never went to college or worked in a professional capacity, so I look to Hillary as the embodiment of what a smart, talented, and powerful woman is capable of. She is the woman of my generation who has totally broken the glass ceiling!
Yesterday I had the privilege to hear Sen. Cory Booker speak. One of the last things he said in his speech was that it is a ridiculous privilege to think it doesn’t matter if you vote or not. YOU may not care, but your vote does matter – it matters to a mother whose child needs healthcare. It matters to someone who might face deportation. It matters to a young person who wants to go to college. So if you feel that by not voting you’re making a statement about the state of the electoral system – or you don’t think your vote matters – think again!
Even if you don’t care what your vote can do for you, it can do a lot for people whose lives depend on that vote!
This election season has been by turns wonderful, depressing, scary, elating, and unpredictable. I am so happy I gave myself the gift of being a Hillary volunteer. I feel privileged to join all of the other dedicated volunteers to get not only Hillary elected, but all of our Democratic candidates in Indiana.
And I can’t wait to celebrate with my “family” on Nov. 8 when Hillary finally breaks the last pane in the glass ceiling!
