How do you change the world?
It's a big question that many idealist like myself ask everyday. I change the world by supporting people who do what's right by God, themselves and the people they represent. I supported State Sen. Mary Squires (D-5) for the Democratic ticket for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated this year and we lost, 10% of the vote compared to 43% and 23% from our opponents, but I have to say that it was a good fight and I would do it all over again.
Some people ask me, if you keep losing battles because you're the nice guy or you do the right thing, why keep doing it? Well, simple answer, because I AM the nice guy and I DO the right thing ALL the time. If that means that I come up short in life, so be it, but let God be judge in the end on how I lived my life, not by its results.
Sen. Squires ran a brilliant campaign, full of energy, life and the drive to do something better for our communities. We didn't want the name recognition, or the grandeous benefits of the Senator's seat, we wanted to do what was right for the people of Georgia. Especially those in the Woodbury and Manchester (see previous post), where the poor and the most needy barely have a voice. I congratulate the Primary winner, Rep. Denise Majette (D-GA), and wish her God speed and not to forget that she was elected by the people and should serve them as if her job depends upon it...as a matter of fact, it does!
Am I bitter? A little. Am I sad? Uhhh...yeah, a good seven months of my life was just blown out the water. But will this stop me and others like me from trying to make a difference? Hell no! We shall go on and continue to affect change. We shall do what is right and continue to spread the message that every voice deserves to be heard.
I hope to work with Sen. Squires again and next time take her straight to the Capitol, but for now I just need a very long rest and some time to cool my jets before getting started on something else. To all of you out there who feel that life is hopeless no matter how much you try to shine...keep shining because you're light is guiding the way for so many others and gives them their own light and together you beat back the darkness of ignorance, prejudice, injustice, intolerance and out right wrong doing. Keep being heroes and sheroes, you know I will!
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,"
Eleanor Rooselvelt.
She has to win!
I went out of town recently for a debate camp in the rural mountain areas of central southern Georgia, Woodbury and Manchester to be more precise. I'm volunteering on the Communications committee for State Senator Mary Squires' (D-Norcross) bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Zell Miller. Granted this is her first bid for a state-wide seat, but sometimes you get that feeling of being in something greater that it just has to work. I'm an avid West Wing fan and working on this campaign is nothing like it, but you know what, it's ten times better. The long hours, little resources, doing the impossible and misconceptions of your candidate are all true, but I've formed friendships with great people and I'm supporting a changemaker, who can effectively bring a voice to the smallest of Georgians and do what's right for the state (not party line, this is me).
Back to the subject though, the beauty of the mountains and the area we stayed in was contrasted by the dire straights of the surrounding community. I've seen my share of disparate neiborhoods from the slums of Trenchtown in Jamaica to the tent cities of New York, but maybe I've spent way too much time in my comfy condo located so close to the major metropolis of Atlanta, that I've lost touch with how others live. It's a simple, but hard life down there. When I approached a few guys hanging out in front of the community center/liquor store/convenience store (nice contradictions huh?) and asked them if they could vote or were going to, they answered that they were all convicted felons and had lost their right to vote. This was rather new to me and I took it rather hard. Someone commits a crime, pays their debt to society through jail and they still are denied the basic American right to vote and for Blacks it's even worse, because our ancestors DIED for that right. It's almost sickening! When I run for an office (and I will) I'm going to work to getting that changed. How can we expect reformed individuals to get back into society if they don't have the rights?
Aside from that, I had the pleasure of viewing my candidate in action with voters. Okay, let me set something straight, she's not a millionaire candidate with 50 levels of people around her, she's real and I've had the opportunity to be one on one with her many times and she's become not just my candidate, but a mentor. Mary Squires handles everyone as if she wants to help them make their lives better. Someone else might say she's just trying to get votes, but if you were there, seeing her go into peoples' homes after they said to myself and other staffers that they want to see someone about their problems, it would've bought you to tears.
"She has heart," said the owner of the Super Sheik convenience center in Woodbury. "Candidates and even our own officials don't come out to see us and to have Mary show up when she didn't even have to, shows that she truly cares about the common people and getting their needs met. She definately has my vote!"
I heard that statement echoed by a number of people I ran into over this weekend on both Woodbury and Manchester. Eversince I was a kid and heard my parents' enthusiasm over President Bill Clinton and other politicians who changed their communities, I wanted to become a politician, but one with integrity and heart. It's not the most fundraiser-friendly way to do an election, but damn it, it's the best way to get people to think about how their vote effects their community and empowers them to grasp a better future.
I wish Sen. Mary Squires luck in her race, not just because I'm on her campaign, but I know she can and will changes things for the better for all Georgians and bring politics back to the people who need it most. Get and vote this year!
