Courageous Campaigners
On the evening of the 2016 election, I decided to entertain myself with a contest to see how long it would be before I heard the word “2020." It happened (no surprise) in minutes. In so many ways, it’s been a long four years.
As I write this, the 2020 campaign is (finally) in its waning days. Of course much remains to be decided, and we may all be tortured by the anticipated wait for the final results. Regardless of your political sentiments, it’s not a relaxed or simple time. Especially this year, as it has rolled by with all its many spokes of urgent need, everything from law enforcement reform, racial injustice, criminal “justice” disparity, a questionable Supreme Court appointment process, environmental degradation, and, oh yeah, COVID-19. It all led to a vigorous campaign season indeed.
After a lifetime of a laissez-faire approach to politics, even I have become an ardent “get out the vote” worker. I have been directly involved (first time ever) on behalf of my preferred choices for the county’s drain commissioner (an important race!), as well as my next Congresswoman, our state senator, and the next president. Is it possible there is a single soul out there who hasn’t gotten the message that this is a vital year for civic engagement? Not if the 500 GOTV postcards (plus 20 more for that drain commissioner), the financial support, or the social media posts I’ve done have any say!
But the hardest gift of my time and effort came with this: I was asked to deliver campaign literature to addresses in two neighborhoods in my small town. No problem, I said. I was provided with maps of targeted households, 20-25 per list. How hard can that be, especially on a delightful autumn day while the trees still held their colors?
But it WAS hard, for me anyhow. I was a little shocked at my visceral dislike of walking unannounced and unbidden up to strangers’ doors, even though the first day the neighborhood was virtually deserted and tranquil. And I don’t ruffle easily.
This unexpected inner response led to deeper analysis as I walked between addresses. “Wow,” I thought, “ this is so weird to dislike doing this so much.” Not given to fear or anxiety normally, I eventually linked my actions with my own resentment when summoned to my own door, only to find someone soliciting this or that. Although I was expressly told not to ring anyone’s doorbell but merely to hang the literature on the knob, I recognized as I walked that I was encountering a sense of intrusion, of reluctance to bother anyone, of, yes, anxiety about whether anyone who saw me coming and came to the door would be angry or worse.
As I walked, then, I realized something impressive: the courage of candidates! People who want to run for public office have to engage with their constituents, which means, they have to be out in front, warts and all. They have to go from one person to the next for months and sometimes years, ready for the questions and mud-slinging and twisted oppositional advertising and poking and prodding of those who want to “inspect the goods” and find out what a candidate is made of. I thought, “it’s not a great place for introverts.” I thought, “these people have to have some sort of courage that escapes me.”
On the second day of doing “lit drops” (as they are called), I dawdled and dawdled at home until finally forcing myself to drive to town. I only went because of my lifelong habit of doing what I say I’ll do, but nothing in me wanted to be there! I delivered to the first four houses, and then, since the area was quiet, decided I would bring my dog along. If nothing else, we could enjoy our daily walk. I became braver, with my buddy alongside me! Happily, we encountered no problems, which left me feeling much better.
However, I’m clear now that my personal strengths are not found in the arena where I would or could take on a serious public campaign on my own behalf. (Those who remember my school board days know that, in truth, I was actually once voted into public service, but that was a long time ago...) This year, I’ve been content to promote and boost others, but putting myself out there to the extent they have to? Not my thing. I’ve realized that, no matter who we’ve seen on TV and in the news these last umpteen months, each candidate deserves some respect for having the gumption and endurance to walk the gauntlet that campaign season demands.
May the best of them win.
