A Public Service Announcement for the Democratic Party

[NanceGreggs]

I have never voted in my life. I am not involved in politics, because I don’t understand how politics is involved with me, or how it impacts my life.

I am a single mom living in the inner city. Between working two jobs, along with running a household and raising my kids, I don’t have much time for anything else. I worry about my boys having to fight a war someday; I worry about them getting a decent education. I don’t see how voting for one guy or another will make those worries go away.

I am a housewife, living on the same farm I grew up on, which was passed to me and my husband when my parents died. We never talked politics much in this house, now or then. We just struggled to get by; some good years, some bad. I don’t understand how my voting will change anything for me or mine.

I own a business in the south. It’s not a big concern by any means, but it pays the bills and I’m proud of what I’ve made of it. When I’m not at the plant, I’m busy looking after my dad, who is elderly and not in the best of health. The medication he needs is expensive, and takes a big chunk out of what I earn. There doesn’t seem to be any help out there for people like him, and that doesn’t seem right. But I don’t hear anyone explaining how voting for them will make things right for my dad, or anyone else.

I am a long-haul trucker, and I am barely getting by. The price of gas is killing me, like it’s killing my friends in this line of work. Seems the oil companies just want more profits. How will voting a politician into office lower the prices at the pump?

I have been unemployed since the factory I worked at for twenty-seven years moved to the other side of the world, where people will work cheap. I don’t watch the political stuff on TV, because I don’t understand what they’re talking about half the time. If I get myself interested, will it bring my job back? That’s all I really want to know.

I am one of those people who get talked about all the time – but never get talked to. I don’t vote – not because I am too lazy, or too stupid, or because I am not concerned with what I see happening to my family, and to my neighbors and my country. It’s just that I hear a lot of big words, and a lot of promises being made – but no one ever takes the time to explain to me how the things that are happening are connected to who is in this office or that, or which party is in control of what.

I am part of the non-voting segment of the population, and that makes me one of millions. Talk to me. Help me understand how my vote can make a difference, how it can impact my life and the course my country takes in future. Explain to me, in plain language, how my participation will improve my community, my nation, and the world at large.

Take a minute or two and engage me in conversation because, despite what most people like to think, I am not too dumb to listen and learn; I am not too self-centered not to be bothered to care.

I’m out here, and I want to help make things better. I just want to understand how my participation can accomplish that.

I hear about political parties vying for the votes of this group and that – the religious right, the city dwellers, the rural folks; Middle America, the Heartland, the blacks, the whites, the Latinos, the independents, the uncommitteds, the traditional base, the fringe – and all the while, here we are, and no one seems to notice.

We are non-voters. Just talk to us. We are a large group, and if we like what we hear, if we understand what it is you can do if elected, and what we can hope to see by making that happen, you could find yourself richer by millions of votes.

Talk to us. We're out here - and we're open to persuasion.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Nance...

Wow.

For a moment, you had me going!

I thought you were talking about you!

And then it dawned on me...

This is superb!

I hope Obama will talk to these people, these disenfranchised folk...

And bring them into the fold...

PLUS make their lives better...

K&R

:patriot:

[saltpoint]

2. We the people.

Recommended with ferocity and admiration.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Thunder.

Outstanding.

And yes, this should find it's way into a few noteworthy email in-boxes.

If you don't have them, I have a few nifty ones. PM me, especially if you'd like to tweak this before any 'send' buttons are hit.

Not that I think it needs tweaks or anything. I don't. But I know how writers are. Most of the time, anyway. Tweakers. Down to their shoelaces.

;)

[bjobotts]

33. My town needs a fire truck but I only have a dollar but so does everyone else

One guy says if we all pay a dollar he can get us a fire truck to put out fires here, and I can keep the cost of food down by using part of that dollar to buy food wholesale

One guy says better keep your dollar 'cause you're gonna need it to buy food and water for yourself because I own the water here and the price is gonna go up except for those of you who give me your dollar now.

One guy says I will build a water reservoir so we can all get clean water and also get a fire truck if you give me your dollar and a dollar every month for the next year.

Now, do you really think your dollar doesn't matter or that it won't do any good so you should just throw it away.

If you only think about yourself and not others like you then you're not a part of anything. You also vote by not voting for what you want or the people who will help you get it. Because then the people who won't help you get what you want will win by you not voting for their opposition.

Understanding something is just a phone call away.

[JeffR]

4. Outstanding.

And despite my obvious bias, I say this without fear of contradiction. Just outstanding.

[proud patriot]

5. Proud to give this it's 5th Recommendation

:patriot:

[darkmaestro019]

6. Please send this to Obama if you haven't already.

I'm a writer too, I know what the above poster means by "tweaker" :) but I don't see a damn thing to tweak. And what I LIKE about it is that it sounds like just a letter at first.

Did you ever hear an old, old, wonderful country song called "The Highwayman"? Nelson, and others I forget (Oak Ridge Boys, somebody from Alabama? I was like four when it came out, gimme break, and I'm goth-industrialy now, lol) It reminds me of that...each verse a short tale of a different life...

[NanceGreggs]

18. Yes, I know the song well ...

It was written by Jimmy Webb - one of the best songwriters ever (and my personal favourite).

The song is not as old as you might think. Here's the writer singing his own version of the song ... enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LmD0TE41Xk

[rebel with a cause]

37. Nance if you do send this in to the Obama site.

you might think about mentioning that Michelle's "we are just like you" speech spoke to these people very well.

There is a reason the republicans have chosen to attack her. She is what the Obama camp called the closer. She relates to people better than even Barack does, even though she is not as cool/unflappable as he is. I have spoken about my sister and her love of Michelle, and my sister is one of these people.

She does not get involved with politics or watch the news because her husband and her both have quite a few health issues. But she has adult children and grandchildren that she worries about. One day I called her and told her to watch Michelle on tv and she did; she was won over. To her Michelle understood what the common person was going through, and she wanted the Obama's in the WH because she felt they would do something to help the ordinary people. Everything else they say means as much as the feeling that someone understands what we are going through. I don't talk to many people, but my sister and her husband do and when they can, I believe they recruite people to Obama. I feed them information and hopefully they use it for good. :D

[FrenchieCat]

7. They number in the millions.

Yes they do.

We need them.

[Balderdash]

32. Yeah

18 million of them.

[maddiejoan]

34. ding ding ding

[rodeodance]

39. all 18 M.

[ellisonz]

8. Bingo.

[jumptheshadow]

9. I love my country

I am just one person. I am not a powerful politician. I am concerned, no, make that frightened, that the liberties this country was built upon are being stripped away and you, the powerful Democratic leaders, are too ambitious or complacent to fight for me, my family and our country. Please show us the courage to be true leaders.

[tomreedtoon]

10. "You" were ignored by the Democrats.

I don't believe that "you" were right-wing. "You" were ignored by both parties, except the Republicans sort of acknowledged "your" presence, so "you" gravitated to them.

Talking to "you" hasn't been considered hip or even interesting by progressives. They would rather read their Chomsky and cluck about how bad Bush is, than to demean themselves by walking into a laundromat in Newark, Ohio where "you" are drying your kids' clothes.

In fact, in the small towns where "you" live, progressives are in a mad dash to get away. They consider "you" and "your" town a lost cause, and relocate to places that sell cappucino and trendy clothes. Or stay on their college campuses and try to get tenure, so they will never have to deal with "you" at all.

People will complain about this post, but I dare anyone to disprove it. I am as certain as global warming that "you" have been abandoned by progressives because they don't see "you" as human beings. Neither do the Republicans, who are working actively to destroy "you," but at least they smile as they're doing it, so "you" don't mind voting for them too much. Better to be betrayed than to be ignored.

[LiberalLovinLug]

19. Interesting response

There is some truth in your response. I certainly would rather just leave a town - with only Rush and Savage on the air, and the townsfolk always bitching about the unpatriotic American-hating gay-marriage Liberals out to destroy the country - rather than engage in shouting matches and perhaps fisticuffs with the local sheeple. Righties that I have met are quicker to use physical violence as a way to 'prove' their argument, mostly because once they actually begin the task of defending the Bush Crime Family they run into indefensible roadblocks and it gets them frustrated to no end. They, like their Decider, can never be WRONG. So their brains just start popping and smoking and you are shouted down with hate slogans.

I don't think you can blame progressives for wanting to move to places where there are other progressive communities and I do think your observation of progressives not seeing the 'other' "as human beings" is a little harsh as well.

But your over-all point is well taken.
I suppose Nancy's appeal is to engage in those around you no matter where you live. There are plenty of Neo-Con clouded minds even in the big cities. Who knows, if you can open some of their eyes, they may just take that truth virus back to their little hick towns where their relatives live and spread the word.

[tomreedtoon]

35. Do you see the problems in your post, LiberalLovinLug?

You call them "sheeple." Not misguided, hoodwinked human beings. Something nonhuman.

You fear their violence when you point out their ignorance. Not too different from the Democrats caving on that recent vote, or fearing being labeled "liberal," or refusing to impeach Bush because they will be called traitors. Dr. King didn't fear the violence of others, and in some people's views, he didn't even fear death.

My original point wasn't explicitly made, perhaps. I was trying to say that many people who call themselves "progressives" aren't in politics to help their country, or help the poor and troubled. They're in it because it's a neat social club that seems smart and hip - and exclusionary. There ain't no jeans at a progressive party, unless they're custom-made and embroidered and not messed up with the sweat of physical labor.

Mind you, I said "some." Not all. But there's an awful lot of those "somes" out there. For instance, while a bunch of people will be protesting for more liberal causes at the Democratic convention, they won't dare show up at the Republican. They won't speak truth to power, because they're afraid of power. Maybe not even afraid. Maybe just "inconvenienced." It might wrinkle their Old Navy ensemble.

[DaDooRonRon]

24. One caveat

Please do not equate true progressives with the Democratic Party. True progressives are those folks who are in the trenches with those folks you mention, and who know the lives these folks live. True progressives know these folks are the backbone of the coalition that must be formed. True progressives see one giant Purple Party and know nothing will change.

Today's Democratic Party torch carriers, the "liberals" that Phil Ochs had down pat, are the ones whose scorn you should rightly aim your arrows at.

The original post is a shining example - empty rhetoric with a "message: I care" running through it.

Oh, they'll love it on the blogs all right, but the people it is supposed to "get" will see right through it.

They've heard it all before - a thousand times.

The know the ending.

They ain't buying it - unless the actors change and the old boys club dries up due to lack of interest.

Trouble is, Obama is so damn happy he finally got admitted he ain't gonna make no waves no how.

Notice, though - that he writes great speeches - gets us all Internets folks all damp in the pants.

Peggy Lee politics - "Is that all there is?"

[mtnester]

40. I was just in Nerk, Ohio last week

:)

[DaDooRonRon]

42. Ha! Everyone knows it's not Nerk, Ohio

It's Nerk, Ahiya. :)

(motto: "not as bad as Chillcothe - but close")

[mtnester]

44. AHAHH

ah yep....

Licking County - an adventure not for the squeamish....contracts galore (think Granville and Johnstown for example) So similar to Perry County, but SO different. (I live in Fairfield County, once a Republican bastion for state and Federal elections, now slowly turning BACK to blue like it was back in the day before Gary DeMastry shat on it with his presence)


I snuck over to Hardy's, since it is about the last place around that HAS one. I had to go to Cherry Valley so stopped on over.

[fight4my3sons]

11. This is just wonderful.

Happy to recommend.

[ccharles000]

12. Wow I wish I could write as well as you.

;)

[LWolf]

13. I would add:

Don't give me campaign rhetoric, spin, "talking points" or partisan propaganda. Don't give me the "lesser of two evils" argument.

Talk to me about how my vote can make an authentic difference.

Even better than talk: give me a candidate that will make an authentic, positive difference for me.

[saltpoint]

14. Agree with others here that this should be sent right away to

the consideration of many others, not least the Obama campaign headquarters.

Enclose a resume in the dispatch to Obama HQ, Nance.

Here's their opportunity to hire someone worthy of their mission.

[blondeatlast]

15. Nance; I just e-mailed "Mainstreet Moms Operation Blue" about their great "Adopt a Red State" progra

literally just before i clicked on DU.

It's a program where groups can get together and write letters to single moms in red states to encourage them to register and vote. I don't know if they are doin it this year but if they are, I'll post it here.

It's great fun and even if they aren't doing it through their organization, I'd love to organize something like that on DU. We even designed envelopes and stationary.

It's wonderful outreach and lots of fun as well. I'll let DU know what I find out from them

As usual; great stuff, sister.

[varelse]

16. You've outdone yourself

*in awe*

:applause:

[cliffordu]

17. K&R!

:kick:

[Jakes Progress]

20. I think the actions of our Democrats

in congress for the last two years is making more non-voters instead of fewer. Suppose these people got interested, got involved, put their hearts into it. I'm afraid I don't see where i can honestly tell them it will make a difference. I guess I'm becoming cynical, but show me what having a Democratic majority has done differently.

That said, I'll be out there again, doing it all again. But I just tired of having to fake a little belief.

[rucognizant]

26. I'm very cynical.

I worked my heart out in '04, GOTV, was a delgate to the state convention...............alienated all the Repugs in town ( majority, rural unsophisticated, untraveled, because their GrandParents were Eisenhower Republicans.) because I HAD to keep speaking out.......... Encountered all those people quoted above.........2000, only 5 people traveled from the County; Washington Co Maine one of the poorest counties in USA, to the state convention.
In 2004 there were maybe 30 attending,............. County meetings were a joke, no one under 50 there. The county Chair died of old age in 06! Our town chair had to step down due to deafness!
Today, we had an open house of our new county headquarters.........( with the help of Dean's 50 state campaign) About 50 people attended. (local area population 9-10,000.)
Upon reflection, ( something that goes with age............childeren grown, grandchildren not nearby, not having to report to work in the morning, SS income insufficient for a robust social life...........TV being a complete washout.....................I realize that my political views were formed in the first 7 years of my life, just as the Catholic church prescribes for holding a parishner for life........................
My parents were elites, educated, erudite, martini drinking, Buick driving,elites! And they were leaders, looked up to. First married in their crowd, their friends came to our house. They didn't discuss their latest botox treatments, in fact one woman, was more interested in her tennis game than the condition of her skin, and became one of those nut brown early & eternal wrinkles people.Or jewelry purchases, or latest stock acquisitions ( I''m sure most had some). They talked about music and literature & politics, and art, & Broadway plays...................AND I LISTENED!
Today I told this to the Mother of the pretty little 3 year old, at the DEM open house.
Today's Drs. seem to have learned from somewhere, somehow, that children under age 8 don't remember very much????????????? They are dead wrong!
The Search Institute http://www.search-institute.org/ figures on 75 years to retrain a community to the framework of 40 Developmental Assets, which are positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
A long time, but if you never start, you NEVER reach your goal!

[Willo]

21. Funny, I didn't see this as a letter to the candidates

but to us. To be quite honest, I saw it specifically for those on DU with a lot of knowledge but little patience or tolerance to teach.

I'm not speaking for you Nance, just saying what I thinking while I read it.

[cbayer]

22. I agree that many need to read this as a letter sent to them.

There has been some harsh and bigoted treatment of certain segments of the population by some posters here. I read this as a message to me to take the time to listen, engage, educate, be educated and improve my capacity for empathy. That, to me, is the real mission of the Democratic party.

Well done, Nance.

[Raster]

23. Thank you Nance! Powerful and oh-so-relevant.

Wake up America!:kick:

[rasputin1952]

25. I shall try to make sense of this, but this may be a bit dubious.

Voting isn't about a party, it's about an ideology. Not a whole lot gets gone in DC because people are essentially pricks with their heads stuck in buckets of shit.

But here is the key to voting, it is what happens locally, when we come together for the better of the community. The books we buy for the kids, they new paint we put on the walls of the school, the safety and knowledge we give to those who will some day take over this nation.

Stopping morons from banning books in libraries; opening the minds of those who's world of wonder is just beginning. It is for the future of the children.

I have stood and looked in the eyes of evil during Library Meetings. I have taken them down by logic and truth. If they don't want they're kid to read "Splendor in the Grass", so be it, but DO NOT deny others the right to read it, or any other book.

Every time we vote to increase a penny or two to enhance fire safety, we are working as a community. Every time we demand up to date books for our children, we are educating our children to bring about a better community. Not long ago, and entire School Board was evicted because they "demanded" intelligent design in the curriculum. An entire city came together to oust fools...now THAT is community.

OK, D/R, we are the owners of this nation. We have sold ourselves out, and cheaply, for the blood of those who fought in the Revolution and the Civil War did not die in vain...they gave us this legacy which we have squandered. I ask your pardon here, as my eyes tear up at the thought of what dreamers have done for this nation, and we have sold it for the 30 pieces of silver.

Molly Pitcher, kept her husband's gun firing; not because she wanted to, but because she HAD to. Clara Barton did bind the wounds of the wounded and dying, because she "wanted" to....she HAD to.

Men stood in lines firing at each other because they HAD to.

So I ask, and with complete humility, is it for us to deny ourselves they vote these men and women have earned for us? We need not vote on the "greater" things, but on the things that create our communities, and we must always be on guard against the barbarians at the gates.

Thank you Nance for this chance to try to explain why we vote...:hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. My dear ras...

I am so pleased to see that you've put this extraordinary essay in your Journal!

I really feel as though, as I've said before, that it should be it's own thread, but of course that's up to you...

Beautifully said!

Beautifully composed!

The idea of communities is a powerful, and a true one!

I wish I could K&R this...

But at least you now know that at least one person here reads and appreciates your prose!

Thank you!

:hug:

:patriot:

[rasputin1952]

38. Thank you for your kind words Peg...

Men and women far better than I have placed ideals ahead of the "easy way" out. Each time we face down evil, we win a victory, albeit a small one occasionally. Diversity is out very nature, but when we come together to face the evil men can bring down upon each other, we step forward to a better world.Battle fought on great fields, in courts and in our communities make this this the las best hope of humanity.

[volstork]

27. Highly recommended! n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

28. Hey, Nance!

Read any Joe Bageant lately? He's talking the same stuff, with a decidedly southern perspective. Here's a coupla linkies for you:

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/wnt-reports/commentary/howling-in-the-belly-of-the-confederacy-joe-bageant.html

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/wnt-reports/commentary/breaking-the-beer-barrier.html

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/wnt-reports/commentary/old-dogs-and-hard-time-joe-bageant.html

I think Joe could be your brother from another mother. ;-)

[Cha]

29. Obama needs to reach these

people through political ads 'cause the m$$m isn't going to let this get through..that Obama can help people like this.

[Jackpine Radical]

30. Jeez, Nance. You just gave me an opening to rerun an old piece from my journal--

A Message for the Uninvolved American

Posted by Jackpine Radical in Editorials & Other Articles
Thu Jun 22nd 2006, 04:09 PM

I know you have a busy life and no time for politics, so let me give you a short summary of all you need to know about the state of affairs in the nation today.

The Republicans are liars and thieves. Unfortunately, they are very good liars and thieves, and most of those smiling faces on your television sets are trying to help them lie and steal.

They told lies to get us into a war. They lie about decorated American war heroes like John Murtha, who is doing his best to save the lives of your children. They lie about everything.

And they steal. They are stealing your savings by running up huge debts that you, your children and your grandchidren will have to pay off. They and their rich friends are stealing from you at the gas pump, at your doctor's office, and at the grocery store. They are plotting right now to steal your Social Security and Medicare.

That is all you really need to know about the Republicans. They lie and steal.

The Democrats are trying to save you from the worst crimes of the Republicans, but you don't hear much about that because those smiling, lying faces on the TV screens don't want you to know.

There is one more thing you need to be aware of. On November <4> there is going to be an election. This will be your chance to help the Democrats defend you from the Republican thieves and liars.

[BlueJac]

31. You have a great mind Nance!

Thank you for all your postings!

[nxylas]

41. But...some of them might have unauthorized opinions about wedge issues

(eg. flag burning, gay marriage, abortion)

What would the boomers say?

[Blue_Roses]

43. kick

:kick:

[Mythsaje]

45. I've mentioned them a time or two...

It's easy to put them all down as "apathetic," when it might be closer to the truth to define them as "disenfranchised." They don't see any value in voting for yet another professional liar.