Afterglow

I have had some time to reflect upon the convention now that I am at home in a quiet place where I can think more clearly about the week's activities.  I have no great revelations to share with you except to say that I am very glad that I did the hard work of campaigning to become a national delegate.  It is very much worth the effort to start off working on a political campaign of a candidate that you truly believe in (by making a few phone calls and knocking on a few doors, for example) and then to find yourself being asked to represent the precinct in various capacities (as an Obama precinct captain, for example), then to considering a run for the position of national delegate by working even harder on that campaign and by devoting even more energy to the organizing efforts of your political party in the area where you live (by organizing mock caucuses/trainings and attending house district meetings to meet people and share ideas, for example).  It is a complicated and strategic effort, at least it was for me, but I appreciate all of the people that I met along the way, especially a man by the name of John McNeely who first saw my desire to "go all the way" and guided me as to how best to approach the process.  John currently serves as our precinct's (#445) democratic party committee person and he has been to the national convention several times as a delegate so I would like to publicly thank him for his guidance and to thank all of the people of the 7th Congressional District who elected me to serve as their delegate to the national convention.
 
I think it must be hard to serve as a public official in any capacity, not only because it requires non-stop public interaction, but also because it requires dedication to issues that are very difficult to approach.  Certainly, I face difficult decisions every day in terms of what to teach my students and how best to deliver my lectures, how to spend my paycheck, and how to treat people who may or may not respect me the way that I think that they should (like people who cut you off in traffic!), but these are actually very simple decisions and they really don't take as much energy as deciding on how to create jobs, fix social security, or whether to go to war, for example.  I'm not sure that I have the mental stamina to make those kinds of decisions every day so I really admire politicians who want to make the world a better place for us like Barack Obama.  I am really quite simple....I need a good meal, a good book, a safe and clean place to work, a few extra pairs of shoes, and a reliable circle of friends and family to come home to at the end of the day.  That's it.  Very simple.  I'm not sure that this list would be enough for someone like Barack Obama.  He needs more than that to make him happy.  Clearly, he needs to feel as though his life has been of service to others and though I, too, want to feel like I've made a difference in people's lives, I feel that my job as a professor of criminology serves that purpose and fulfills me in a way that I never thought possible, certainly not when I was completing my doctorate at CU!  I'm so glad that the rewards for that hard work pay off for me when I step into my classrooms at Metro State. 
 
Still, there are lessons to be learned about politics from the convention proceedings of this past week: 1) American people crave leadership that values their experience, 2) People are quickly judged but very rarely validated when they step forward into positions of leadership, 3) the media serves as a very powerful force in deciding elections because it shapes the images of politicians and campaigns, 4) Most people could probably care less about who serves as President of the United States as long as gas prices go down and wages and health care coverage goes up, 5) Politics is all about appearances and appearances are all about perception.  Thank you for the opportunity to share this experience with you. 

---

Get ideas on sharing photos from people like you. Find new ways to share. Get Ideas Here!