Wonderful article by a self described conservative/Obama supporter

[catgirl]

By Jonathan Curley in The Christian Science Monitor

-snip-

My wife made me canvas for Obama; here's what I learned

At the Obama headquarters, we stood in a group to receive our instructions. I wasn't the oldest, but close, and the youngest was maybe in high school. I watched a campaign organizer match up a young black man who looked to be college age with a white guy about my age to canvas together. It should not have been a big thing, but the beauty of the image did not escape me.

Instead of walking the tree-lined streets near our home, my wife and I were instructed to canvass a housing project. A middle-aged white couple with clipboards could not look more out of place in this predominantly black neighborhood.

We knocked on doors and voices from behind carefully locked doors shouted, "Who is it?"

"We're from the Obama campaign," we'd answer. And just like that doors opened and folks with wide smiles came out on the porch to talk.

Please read this article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1103/p09s02-coop.html

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

1. Gee thanks, now my eyes are all watery....

:hi:

[catgirl]

2. Barriers will come down when Obama is president

And I'm going to wave the american flag for the first time. I proudly bought it yesterday.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. My conservative brother is unabashedly pro Obama.

[Peace Patriot]

4. Usually the CSM makes me want to puke--they are such NPR-type, phony 'liberal,' Corpo/Fascists.

But this article was interesting and moving, and spoke to something in me--what I think about my fellow and sister Americans, and have thought of them all my life, and all through this dreadful junta--their characteristic sense of fairness, which Bushwhack gross unfairness is in such contrast to.

It's a first person article, about a "swing voter" (a white banker) who goes canvassing in a black neighborhood for Obama, at first led by his wife. The simple crossing of the line--white guy into black neighborhood--is momentous for him. Knocking on doors, not knowing what to expect. He is surprised to be greeted with smiles and warmth, which may have been mostly because he was carrying Obama literature around--a McCain volunteer might not have been so welcome. But nevertheless what he seems to have experienced is a waning of fear, a new sense of connection to the folks in that neighborhood, and deep, new understanding of the meaning of this election, which he describe as being about "the heart of America" (my own frequent theme at DU--count all the votes and shitbags like Bush and Cheney would never gain power).

He says, "I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways." He suddenly grasps the meaning of this election TO THE POOR.

I think there are A LOT more people like him in this country than there are bigots and Bushwhacks--people with open minds, who are characterized by their tolerance, their fairness and their basic decency. The Corpo/Fascist media dragons try to impose an ugly self-image on us all--divided, bitter, angry, hate-filled, mean-spirited, greedy, repressive and stupid, but it is not even close to the real America. It is classic "divide and conquer," and we need to resist it.

[catgirl]

5. Thank you for your thoughtful post

This writer probably would have never had that opening of the heart towards a group he never bothered to
understand, or sympathize with had Obama not been the candidate. That alone is a remarkable leap that
many ignorant (meant literally) americans have recently made, or will make because of Obama.

I applaud the writer for his honesty. And I am glad he made that leap, even though he was given a little push
into making the first step. He obviously is a thoughtful person- he was struck by the beauty of the pairing
of the older white guy and the college aged black guy. He became part of the changing of america community.
I doubt this guy will ever be the same. He's a better person now.