4 days in New Hampshire
Last week I made the trek from Connecticut to New Hampshire to campaign in the presidential primaries. While I’ve campaigned and door-knocked for a variety of issues in the past, I’ve never really been moved to canvass for a presidential candidate. In my voting life, I haven’t really been enthusiastic about either party or its candidates, so while I always vote, I’m not always happy about my options. This election has been pleasantly different, so I brushed off my organizer skills and drove north.
When I first moved to New England from California, I knew there was going to be a bit of a culture shock. However, traveling from southern Connecticut to southern New Hampshire, I was shocked by the overwhelming homogeneity and vastness of the state. Granted, I was not campaigning in a city (e.g., Nashua, Manchester), but I was a little overwhelmed by the vast space of it all.
I was certainly one of the only people of color in the area (and I was a transplant!), but I was happily surprised to find a significant number of desis, and more specifically, another ABD, Punju, Sikh. If you think of the two of us as a fraction of the volunteer population, then we were certainly repping hard!
This made me think of the growing number of ABD Sikhs who are becoming politically active. There’s often a generational disconnect around politics and participation, but there also seems to be an ever-growing cadre of folks getting involved through political action groups, elections, and parties. Have current events (read: post 9/11 backlash) catalyzed participation, or do we just notice it more, now? Are there other factors that may explain the growing number of folks becoming politicized and politically active?
Logging you in...
Sounds like you had an interesting experience! :)
You write:
While I’ve campaigned and door-knocked for a variety of issues in the past, I’ve never really been moved to canvass for a presidential candidate. In my voting life, I haven’t really been enthusiastic about either party or its candidates, so while I always vote, I’m not always happy about my options. This election has been pleasantly different, so I brushed off my organizer skills and drove north.
Could you please share with us which presidential candidate you canvassed for and why he/she has helped motivate you to become politically active as an "ABD, Punju, Sikh"?
Sounds like you had an interesting experience! :)
You write:
While I’ve campaigned and door-knocked for a variety of issues in the past, I’ve never really been moved to canvass for a presidential candidate. In my voting life, I haven’t really been enthusiastic about either party or its candidates, so while I always vote, I’m not always happy about my options. This election has been pleasantly different, so I brushed off my organizer skills and drove north.
Could you please share with us which presidential candidate you canvassed for and why he/she has helped motivate you to become politically active as an "ABD, Punju, Sikh"?
There are so many things I like about this candidate -- where to begin! I think what really helped crack through my cynicism and get me motivated was his rhetoric. I know a lot of people speak dispassionately about how he is a lot of talk, but after years of fear-mongering and hatred, I appreciate a candidate who talks realistically about the challenges facing Americans today but poses the solutions in a positive frame/context. For the most part he just seems like a good guy with good judgment and a great support team, and given that there are not many differences among the Democratic candidates, the motivating factor for me was having a candidate who could help people see their commonality (i.e., American) instead of their divisions (e.g., Republican/Democrat, have/ have not, brown / black / white, etc., etc.). I also wanted someone with a much better hand on foreign policy (or at least a more moderate, reasoned lens), which I don't see in the other candidates so much.
Whew that was long -- that's just the short version :)
There are so many things I like about this candidate -- where to begin! I think what really helped crack through my cynicism and get me motivated was his rhetoric. I know a lot of people speak dispassionately about how he is a lot of talk, but after years of fear-mongering and hatred, I appreciate a candidate who talks realistically about the challenges facing Americans today but poses the solutions in a positive frame/context. For the most part he just seems like a good guy with good judgment and a great support team, and given that there are not many differences among the Democratic candidates, the motivating factor for me was having a candidate who could help people see their commonality (i.e., American) instead of their divisions (e.g., Republican/Democrat, have/ have not, brown / black / white, etc., etc.). I also wanted someone with a much better hand on foreign policy (or at least a more moderate, reasoned lens), which I don't see in the other candidates so much.
Whew that was long -- that's just the short version :)
The Langar Hall » Blog Archive » SAAN 2008 and Vote or Die
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Camille,
Sounds like you had an interesting experience!
You write:
Could you please share with us which presidential candidate you canvassed for and why he/she has helped motivate you to become politically active as an "ABD, Punju, Sikh"?
Camille,
Sounds like you had an interesting experience!
You write:
Could you please share with us which presidential candidate you canvassed for and why he/she has helped motivate you to become politically active as an “ABD, Punju, Sikh”?
Ron Paul!
Ron Paul!
I campaigned for Barack Obama
I've actually been politically active for a long time, just not in the context of presidential campaigns (I've campaigned in other electoral campaigns).
There are so many things I like about this candidate — where to begin! I think what really helped crack through my cynicism and get me motivated was his rhetoric. I know a lot of people speak dispassionately about how he is a lot of talk, but after years of fear-mongering and hatred, I appreciate a candidate who talks realistically about the challenges facing Americans today but poses the solutions in a positive frame/context. For the most part he just seems like a good guy with good judgment and a great support team, and given that there are not many differences among the Democratic candidates, the motivating factor for me was having a candidate who could help people see their commonality (i.e., American) instead of their divisions (e.g., Republican/Democrat, have/ have not, brown / black / white, etc., etc.). I also wanted someone with a much better hand on foreign policy (or at least a more moderate, reasoned lens), which I don't see in the other candidates so much.
Whew that was long — that's just the short version
I campaigned for Barack Obama
I’ve actually been politically active for a long time, just not in the context of presidential campaigns (I’ve campaigned in other electoral campaigns).
There are so many things I like about this candidate — where to begin! I think what really helped crack through my cynicism and get me motivated was his rhetoric. I know a lot of people speak dispassionately about how he is a lot of talk, but after years of fear-mongering and hatred, I appreciate a candidate who talks realistically about the challenges facing Americans today but poses the solutions in a positive frame/context. For the most part he just seems like a good guy with good judgment and a great support team, and given that there are not many differences among the Democratic candidates, the motivating factor for me was having a candidate who could help people see their commonality (i.e., American) instead of their divisions (e.g., Republican/Democrat, have/ have not, brown / black / white, etc., etc.). I also wanted someone with a much better hand on foreign policy (or at least a more moderate, reasoned lens), which I don’t see in the other candidates so much.
Whew that was long — that’s just the short version
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