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Politics O8: Are you inspired?

By Carmen D. on Monday, October 27th, 2008, 9:52 pm Comments

Watching America writhe through the throes of this political contest I’ve felt disillusioned and inspired; often whipsawing back and forth between the two in the same hour.

What’s disillusioned me?

Watching parents encourage their children to hate Barack Obama. (example at 2:54) When I first saw that footage a couple weeks ago, I broke down and sobbed. I cried those heavy, heaving sobs that make a guttural sound as they move up from your belly, past your chest and out through your throat. I was so forlorn and a little bit frightened by the intensity of what I was watching. All I could think of was that it would take the power of Jesus’ love to cut through the rage I was seeing. And so I called my dear friend Dawn to pray. Dawn is a long time friend who happens to be a white woman, living in southern Virginia and supporting Barack Obama. She even sports an Obama bumper sticker on her car. In other words, she “gets it.” I missed her and ended up just leaving a tear filled, quasi-intelligible, pleading prayer on her answering machine. I, in turn, missed Dawn’s inspiring and beautiful call back in which she left a soul quieting, ultra-powerful prayer on my answering machine. I’ve listened to Dawn’s message over and over again. Her words are especially comforting when something particularly odious comes across the wires.

I was inspired today again. A group of women who probably need money right now walked off their jobs at a call center rather than make lie filled calls for the McCain campaign. According to Talking Points Memo:

Some three dozen workers at a telemarketing call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents.

Nina Williams, a stay-at-home mom in Lake County, Indiana, tells us that her daughter recently called her from her job at the center, upset that she had been asked to read a script attacking Obama for being “dangerously weak on crime,” “coddling criminals,” and for voting against “protecting children from danger.”

Williams’ daughter told her that up to 40 of her co-workers had refused to read the script, and had left the call center after supervisors told them that they would have to either read the call or leave, Williams says. The call center is called Americall, and it’s located in Hobart, IN. Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script Attacking Obama, Greg Sargent, Talking Points Memo

Some of us cannot be bought.

Where are YOU finding inspiration right now?

  • interesting, i wrote a little piece scheduled to post on my blog tomorrow that talks about a private school encouraging students to campaign for democratic candidates. the oldest are second graders.
  • THANK YOU friends. I am so humbled by your support.
  • n-2-me-i-c
    Carmen,
    Thanks for your heartfelt post. I can relate to your hurt, disillusionment and inspiration. Maybe because of my experiences during the 60’s, racism today does not surprise me. It still angers me, but does not surprise me. I see racism as a profoundly cruel and dangerous disease waiting for a flashpoint. When triggered, it can quickly spread out of control. It is alive and well in America today. Like you, I pray for the safety of Obama and the citizens of this country. I also pray for a peaceful election.

    On an inspirational note, this is an election I thought not possible during my lifetime. That alone keeps me inspired. Also, I am thankful to Obama, and to the many good and fair minded American people—white, black, brown, young and old--for an unbelievable moment in American history.

    And no matter how this election turns out, Obama will remain as one of my heroes....PEACE
  • Dawncita
    Today, it's you who inspires me, Carmencita. Before I even read today's entry, I pulled down my "bookmarks" menu to the "all about race" bookmark, and smiled thinking of how prescient it was of you to start down this road in the first place. Then I read your entry. The lump is refusing to leave my throat. I love you, and I'm glad I was there for you, as you have been for me. God bless you and my other friends of color for seeing past MY skin color and letting me into your heart despite the despicable words and actions of some of my race. Oh, and by the way, my car (or as I like to call it, the transport mechanism for my Obama bumper sticker) was rear ended (totaled) two weeks ago. Although I'm in a rental car for now, I went right out and got a lawn sign. I'm proud to be a supporter of Senator Obama, and so are my children. The three of us will be pushing the button together one week from today. We can't wait!
  • hang in there carmz. xox
  • Chi Chi
    Dear Carmz,
    WOW! What a powerful expression of the depth of your pain. It took a lot of courage to reach that level of truth, to touch what I see as anger, hurt, humiliation and fear. I have personally endured overt and subtle racism throughout my life and have never been truly able to touch it as you have although I knew the feelings were there. My first experience was when my mother literally pushed me off the side walk so that a group of teenagers could pass four abreast and not have to share the sidewalk with the two of us.I was about 6 years old.

    Over my 64 years, I have come to see that there are more people who practice humane tolerate than those who are ignorant, narrow-minded, hateful, selfish, demagogues. I realize that a minority group of people want to wreck havoc and to think they are superior to others and will base that superiority on anything tangible, such as skin color, culture, religion, sexual preference, height, weight, school, ad infinitum. That will never change. There will forever be those inadequate people who need to base their superiority on the superficial. But, I sincerely believe that there are more good people who want fair and equal co-existence than those who wish to eradicate arbitrarily harmless differences.

    The very best to you. Please keep up the good work.
  • Chi Chi
    Dear Carmz,
    WOW! What a powerful expression of the depth of your pain. It took a lot of courage to reach that level of truth, to touch what I see as anger, hurt, humiliation and fear. I have personally endured overt and subtle racism throughout my life and have never been truly able to touch it as you have although I knew the feelings were there. My first experience was when my mother literally pushed me off the side walk so that a group of teenagers could pass four abreast and not have to share the sidewalk with the two of us.I was about 6 years old.

    Over my 64 years, I have come to see that there are more people who practice humane tolerate than those who are ignorant, narrow-minded, hateful, selfish, demagogues. I realize that a minority group of people want to wreck havoc and to think they are superior to others and will base that superiority on anything tangible, such as color, culture, religion, sexual preference, height, weight, school, ad finitim. That will never change. There will forever be those inadequate people who need to base their superiority on the superficial. But, I sincerely believe that there are more good people who want fair and equal co-existence than those who wish to eradicate arbitrary differences.

    The very best to you. Please keep up the good work.
  • Hi there,

    I looked over your blog and it looks really good. Do you ever do link exchanges on your blog roll? If you do, I'd like to exchange links with you.

    Let me know if you're interested.

    Thanks..
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