He pulls into the driveway as I'm ringing his doorbell, so I turn around

[struggle4progress]

and walk to the car. The window comes down halfway

I'm a volunteer for the Democratic Party, I say. I'm looking for X Y

I'm X, he says

I run my line about the importance of the election

I always vote, he says

I offer some campaign literature: I hope you'll consider voting for folk who will support our President, folk like our Democratic candidate Elaine Marshall

I'm a veteran, he says, I fought in Vietnam. I was wounded. Nobody cares. But that's my problem. I'd still fight for this country today. I hate politicians. They're all hypocrites

He hasn't told me anything about how he'll vote, and normally I'd just head for the next door on my list. But he bled, and he still cares

I thank him for his service. And then I make sure he knows when and where he can vote

They're all hypocrites, he repeats. They're children. None of them could take an M-16 apart and put it back together. I see them yammering on Fox all the time

He glances briefly at the little campaign hand-out I've given him: I like Elaine

So do I, sir, I tell him. You have a good day

He looks at me with steady unblinking eyes: You too!

[stray cat]

1. Regardless of how he votes - he is a responsible citizen, Thanks for a good story

And thank you for your work, it's often a thankless job going door to door or making calls. Thank you!

[Scuba]

4. What /\ he (or she) said

[struggle4progress]

8. It's not really thankless. I've managed to have cordial discussions

with almost everybody, whether or not they agree with me: there's all kinds, of course, but most are decent at the core, and a touch of respect and courtesy generally gets a reciprocal response. Some of my best memories will never be good stories: crinkling eyes or a tone of voice are hard to capture in words

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Very well done!

Greatest Page for you, and richly deserved.

:yourock:

[timber84]

3. WTG fellow North Carolinian! n/t

[barbtries]

25. ditto

fellow carolinian!

[FirstLight]

5. ...it's almost as if

you have to take courses in psychotherapy before heading out there these days...just because so many folks are upset or in pain, emotional or whatever.

thanks for being straight with this guy, i'm sure he appreciated it too :)

[JuniperLea]

6. Well done!

That's not an easy job!

Thank you for YOUR (campaign) service to us all!

:patriot:

[stanwyck]

7. Yes. Thank YOU for your service

I've canvassed before. It's tough. Thanks so much.

[struggle4progress]

12. I'd rather ring doorbells than duck hostile fire

[MrScorpio]

9. I would tell him that I know how to take apart an M-16 and clean it, my damn self

Because, I can and I did.

A clean weapon is a happy weapon.

[struggle4progress]

23. I might have told him that, if I could have told him that honestly

I don't know

I'm quite sure you would have had a completely satisfactory conversation with him: since your demeanor and voice would have been different than mine, and so would your words, the entire interaction might well have followed a somewhat different trajectory

[bemildred]

10. Good job. nt

[dave29]

11. Very well done.

Thank you for your efforts!!

[young_at_heart]

13. As a fellow North Carolinian, I'm happy to hear this

There have been so many negative ads by the Republican "groups" here in Asheville and not very many for the good guys. They are really after Heath Shuler and the ads are tacky and very mean-spirited. Haven't seen many for Elaine, but I'm hopeful she can take down that 'waste of space', Burr.

[Historic NY]

14. GOTV one at a time, good work

[red red red]

15. I had an interesting experience this AM too...

Background: I had just gotten up (10 AM - I know) and went outside to drink my coffee and to try and wake up.
A car pulled up and 2 women got out - I recognized them as being from a group that leaves "The Watchtower" and try to talk religion. Needless to say, I was not in the mood, but, I put a smile on and decided I would politely tell them I was not in the mood. Well, they started talking about "Trust" and asked what I thought was wrong in the world today. I told them I thought that people who pretend to be Christians like Sarah Palin were a big part of what is wrong because they pretend to be 'religious' and truthful but I think they are really evil. They wholeheartedly agreed with me. cha-ching! Had I been thinking clearer, I would have suggested 'voting Democrat', but... I would guess that they will anyway.

[bigmonkey]

16. Actually Jehovah's Witnesses are "discouraged from voting".

Per their Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses">here.

Too bad in this case. I wish that, for the past 30 years, more progressive Xtians had confronted these Christian Nationalist types that Palin exemplifies. We'd be in better shape than we are now. Of course, if rational thought had been promoted during that time too we'd be even better off.

[struggle4progress]

17. When I was much younger, there was a period of about 7 years when

I argued just about every single day with somebody or other from the "Christianity = patriotism = capitalism = creationism = conservatism" crowd. They're sure they're right and don't even want to hear other views

[LiberalFighter]

26. They don't sign petitions either.

[struggle4progress]

18. bigmonkey is probably right: The Watchtower crowd won't vote

[Mimosa]

19. Struggle4Progress, you're a great human being

It sounds like you handle situations with tact. *hug*

[struggle4progress]

22. I kind of like walking around getting a brief glimpse into people I wouldn't otherwise meet

I don't really think this was a situation I "handled" -- I learned something in that interaction

[proteus_lives]

20. Sounds like my dad. Fought in Vietnam and hates all politics.

But he hasn't voted since. Can't convince him to.

[struggle4progress]

21. War is very hard on people, even those who are not physically injured

One of my great-grandfathers never recovered psychiatrically from WWI

A member of my family (though not immediate family) fought in Vietnam. He wrote a rather insightful novel about the war by compositing experiences he and his friends had -- but he wrote it too late, too long after too many other people had written about the war, and so there was no publishing interest, even though I think it was of the right length and notable in various ways. I think he's a great guy, and I think he's come to terms with the war in his own way, but when I've talked to him about that era (which was very painful to him) it seems clear to me that the experience blew some holes in his psyche, holes that he may not fully recognize or that he may simply be unable to patch

I hope your father has recovered from that experience as far as possible

[proteus_lives]

24. Thank you for your kind words.

He's probably achieved the most peace he'll get from it. He opened up a few years ago about it to me and that's helped.

Like your family member, it's fascinating to talk to him about that era because I'm a history buff and he reminds me always that history, events and people are complex and it's impossible to pigeon-hole them into a neat little box.

And I often share things I've discussed on DU with him. Whither I agree with him or not, he always has an opinion worth hearing.

[tpsbmam]

27. Hey, neighbor!

Sorry I'm too late to rec but not to late to kick and say hi! Can't do the door to door stuff -- I've been mostly calling & working when I can at HQ on Old Fairview. Thanks for doing the door to door stuff -- what a great experience!

[struggle4progress]

28. Thanks for the calls! Keep it up!