I’m shyer than the average bear, but in September, when I went into the local Sean Casten (IL-06) office for a yard sign, I surprised myself by saying, Yes, I would like to phone bank, when asked by the young woman who runs the office. And after a couple of weeks of this, I surprised myself again by saying Yes, I would like to canvass, when she asked.
Why did I say yes? Because I’m (kind of) retired and I’d had enough of sitting there watching MSNBC and CNN all day and feeling depressed and helpless about what I was seeing. Believe me — phone banking and canvassing are way, way out of my comfort zone, but I knew I was feeling no comfort at all sitting at home wringing my hands over things I couldn’t change.
And, also, I remember reading a scientific study a while back that proved writing wiseguy comments on Daily Kos several times a week has never affected anything in the real world for the better, ever.
So I’ve been making the calls and ringing the doorbells. Most of the calls go to voicemail, and most of the doorbells go unanswered (even when I know people are home), but I do not actually drop dead when a human answers, which I find extremely exhilarating.
The Casten office supplies a list of numbers to call or houses to visit, and at first it was awkward trying to get through the script they gave me to recite (especially when canvassing) but after stumbling the first few times, I learned to make it my own, to make it personal,so that even when I get a curt “Not interested” I don’t feel like a fool — I feel good about what I was trying to say, even if the other guy doesn’t.
I learned to have my literature in my hand before I walk up to the door, to say the voter’s name once to myself just as I press the doorbell so I have it in my mind when I start the conversation (“Hi. Is this the Johnson residence? My name is ….”) and to Smile! Smile! Smile! as I wait for the door to open because so many people have cameras trained on their front doors these days.
Oh, and everybody has loud, giant dogs they need to wrestle with as you talk. People and their dogs. Oh well.
But, the thing is, people are nice, at a far higher rate than I’d anticipated, even those who are voting Republican. At one house, after giving my little intro, the guy stepped out onto the porch, smiled, shook my hand, and said, simply, “Good luck.” I said, “So that’s a ‘No?’” and he nodded pleasantly. At another house the old man said, “Naw, I’m a Trump guy”— and then the two of us laughed together, ruefully, about the weird, huge snowflakes that were blowing around crazily, ominously, on a very blustery October Saturday.
The conversations with the people who are on our side, however, are such a great tonic for both of us, I think, because many of us feel so isolated. What a relief to vent with someone who agrees! I even had a conversation with a woman who called herself “a Trump voter with buyer’s remorse.” She was so ashamed, and she kept apologizing to me. It was touching, and a little sad. You can go fix it tomorrow, I told her, and made sure she knew where to go to vote early.
Today, I gave a little civics lesson to a sweet young guy on my list (Indian-born, I believe; his name was Patel) who’d heard about the election and was very interested, but really didn’t know what it was for. Mayor, maybe? I went over the House race, the State races, where to vote, what ID to bring (which shouldn’t be needed in Illinois, but he was foreign-born and this is DuPage county) and why to vote. “We have to get rid of Roskam,” I told him. “He votes with Trump 94% of the time.”“He does? Ooooo.” He made a sour face. I don’t usually bring up Trump when I canvass. It’s like seeing a fly on the window and throwing a bowling ball at it, but I suspected this time it would have the right effect.
So, anyway — there are only a few days left. There is probably a local Democrat near you who needs your help. Drop into the office on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday and ask what you can do. Don’t know where to go? Yosef 52 has been publishing a diary at Daily Kos every day for weeks that will point you in the right direction. Here's the latest one. You can also find out about, and sign up for, volunteer opportunities in your area at this site.
Stop fretting. Get up. Go. Do.