So yesterday I braved the blizzard and freezing temperatures to go to the rally for Barack Obama held in downtown KC. I'm pretty much a die-hard Obama supporter and have been since before he announced his run, but had never attended a political rally for a presidential candidate before (even though I'm very interested in politics - I interned with the Missouri House of Representatives in college).
Let me tell you - it's an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Here are a few of the more remarkable aspects, from the perspective of a rally newbie (but I genuinely think a lot of this is unique to the Obama campaign) - The People There were people there of every color, every age, every background. I have not seen such a mix of people in my entire life (granted I was born and raised in white middle America, but still), including a very large percentage of young black men and women (I only bring it up because of the historically low numbers of voters from this demographic in even the general election, much less a primary). There were thousands of people there - we were in line to get into the parking garage for almost half an hour, then in line to get into the auditorium for over an hour. It was held in a convention center and the place was packed - people were standing on stairways, balconies, the fire marshals eventually closed the doors when the place reached max capacity and there were still thousands more outside waiting in line who didn't get in. The Atmosphere The best thing, though, about the people was how genuinely nice and respectful everyone was. Out of all those diverse viewpoints, backgrounds, ideals, etc., I felt a real sense of purpose, an almost palpable excitement from everyone there. It was almost like I imagine devout Catholics must feel going to see the pope (I am NOT comparing Obama to the pope). I know that sounds, perhaps, like a sappy exaggeration, but in all that crowd of people everyone was smiling, everyone was laughing, I didn't see one rude act or gesture or word, which I almost always do at other similar events that draw large crowds. It was electrifying, being in that crowd, when Obama was speaking. I saw several people with tears in their eyes at certain points in the speech (he led everyone in a rousing version of the Pledge of Allegiance and everyone roared the last few words - "with liberty and justice FOR ALL"). I saw grannies screaming their lungs out, teenagers chanting "O-BA-MA" . before he even came on stage the entire crowd was roaring "YES WE CAN" so hard the floor was shaking. Obama Himself The man is a phenomenal speaker. I knew that before from watching him speak on TV or reading transcripts online, but he is something you truly have to see in person to believe. Of course he talked about what he would do when elected, but more importantly, the main points of his speech were about us as an American people and what we can and should be doing to "rebuild the country block by block," the hard work and dedication we have to show as a unified group to heal our nation, and how having genuine hope for a better future is the first step and has always been the first step toward facing difficult challenges. I have never in my life been so inspired as a human being by a political candidate. I have been as cynical as they come about government and politics (hell, I saw how it truly works during my time at the MO legislature - if you don't come out of that jaded, you're just not breathing) and America in general. But after last night, I am proud to live in this country again and I'm hungry to actually DO SOMETHING to make it better. I don't care if you like Obama, if you agree with his policies and ideals, if you think he's experienced enough, black enough, too black, too slick, or too Democrat - you should try to see him speak just once in your life, just to get a taste of what it must have been like to see JFK or Bobby Kennedy or any of the other great statesmen of history. Whatever happens, if he gets the nomination or not, if he wins the election or not, this is truly a moment in history that we've needed sorely as a nation for far too long and I hope all of you get to experience it sometime before November. Shawna Hampton [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.revisionsconsulting.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:252493 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
