I have always been interested in politics, but now it's official! I am a bonafide political junkie. But enough about me.
I would like to introduce you to a young lady from Stryker, Ohio. (That's the Northwest corner of the state.) Her name is Rachel.
Rachel is a 27 year old Hispanic woman. I attended a town hall meeting with her on Saturday. It wasn't just any old town hall. It was a town hall in Rossford, Ohio, with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, and Gov. Janet Napolitano. I had been looking forward to it with the glee of a child, and was nervous about it also, but then I met Rachel.
I have never seen a young woman so excited about anything in my life, and I quickly forgot why I was there, because Rachel became my focal point.
When I met Rachel at Barack Obama's Defiance campaign office, I noticed her enthusiasm right away. She was excited at the prospect of seeing these powerful women up close and personal. She wasn't sure of their accomplishments, or even which state which Governor was from, but that didn't matter. Rachel was excited because they were there to talk about Barack Obama, she was eager to learn about these ladies and wanted to hear more about Barack.
We rode together to the town hall meeting and Rachel talked about how she was raised in a household where they were taught that race was not an issue, and she learned that all people were indeed created equal. It surprised me when she said the first racism she had encountered was from people who had visited a Barack Obama campaign stand where she was working at the County Fair. She said these people were so overtly racist, she wanted to go into a corner and cry. She said she had never personally witnessed that sort of racism before, and days later, was still upset by it.
Undaunted, this young woman was determined to work even harder. She decided to start phone-banking and working hard for Barack, the more I talked to her, the more I got excited again about the prospect of Barack becoming the next President. We just have to win for people like Rachel.
When we arrived at the town hall, Rachel wanted to sit as close to the governors as she could, and she wanted to make sure that, if there were reporters with cameras, she would be included in the photos. She was on her cell phone calling everybody she knew to let them know where she was.
I tried to listen to what the governors had to say, and some of it did get through, but to me, being a political junkie, it was the same thing I had heard before. It wasn't the same ole, same ole to Rachel, however. I watched her as she intently listened and I saw how proud she was to sit in the same room with Sebelius and Napalitano . I watched (sort-of in awe) at the expression on Rachel's face when Napalitano said "Most people in Arizona know how many houses we have, I know exactly how many I have. I have one. We don't have a Governor's mansion, so I have to pay for mine, and I know exactly how much it costs." Rachel laughed like she was at a comedy show.
I'm pretty sure Rachel clapped the loudest when Gov. Napalitano said "It's easy to get sidetracked in a campaign with lipstick and moose." You would have thought she was at a rock concert. I was sure that at any moment, she was gonna whip out a lighter and start doing the wave!
After the town hall was over, we were privileged enough to attend a house party with both Governors. They spoke about the economy, green jobs, and taxes. As I watched Rachel, I realized that she was receiving an education in politics. She was hooked!
When the Governors finished speaking and were leaving, Rachel was so disappointed she wasn't able to get a picture with them, she lept from her seat and chased them outside. The result is a photo worth a million words. The radiant smile on her face says it all.
I tell you that story to tell you this: no matter how disheartened we get as Americans (and lately there are many things to dishearten us) and no matter where we think the state of our country stands, there are young women and men just like Rachel who see this moment as their chance to change things. So don't get discouraged. The next generation stands ready.