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Oct. 10th, 2004 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chhotiiSo now I’ve done canvassing.
Early yesterday, Mom and I set out to drive to a union hall just north of Philadelphia where LCV was organizing and training volunteers to canvas. After bagels, the training-- which was quite good-- and a pep talk from some high-mucky-muck of Greenpeace, we were dropped off in a suburban townhouse complex with a list of names and addresses of registered voters to go bother. In about 4 hours we knocked on about 80 doors (holy crap), found about 30 people at home, of whom about 20 were willing to talk to us at all about politics.
It wasn’t horrible, neither was it fun. It was physically taxing, but not so much that any physical discomforts-- such as sore feet, thirst, or tiredness-- got in the way of our doing the work; we were able to keep up the same pace until 16:00, at which point we had to stop because of other people’s schedules and logistics. Emotionally it was a bit draining, but I was able to keep the overwhelmed feelings mostly at bay until the day’s work was done. Mom and I felt that it was tremendously worthwhile to have done, but we were just worn down enough by it to not even discuss doing it again today. Now I know that I can canvas, that I am capable of it-- and as with any speaking engagement, advanced preparation helps-- but people who are less shy, more articulate, and maybe more in line with the Democratic party’s key issues are better at it than I am.
After yesterday’s efforts, I have crested that point of having done enough for this election that I feel that even if Kerry doesn’t win, I am not in that class of people who should have done more. So today I am resting, just lazing around at the convent, trying to rinse the politics out of my brain by reading Cold Mountain.
Early yesterday, Mom and I set out to drive to a union hall just north of Philadelphia where LCV was organizing and training volunteers to canvas. After bagels, the training-- which was quite good-- and a pep talk from some high-mucky-muck of Greenpeace, we were dropped off in a suburban townhouse complex with a list of names and addresses of registered voters to go bother. In about 4 hours we knocked on about 80 doors (holy crap), found about 30 people at home, of whom about 20 were willing to talk to us at all about politics.
It wasn’t horrible, neither was it fun. It was physically taxing, but not so much that any physical discomforts-- such as sore feet, thirst, or tiredness-- got in the way of our doing the work; we were able to keep up the same pace until 16:00, at which point we had to stop because of other people’s schedules and logistics. Emotionally it was a bit draining, but I was able to keep the overwhelmed feelings mostly at bay until the day’s work was done. Mom and I felt that it was tremendously worthwhile to have done, but we were just worn down enough by it to not even discuss doing it again today. Now I know that I can canvas, that I am capable of it-- and as with any speaking engagement, advanced preparation helps-- but people who are less shy, more articulate, and maybe more in line with the Democratic party’s key issues are better at it than I am.
After yesterday’s efforts, I have crested that point of having done enough for this election that I feel that even if Kerry doesn’t win, I am not in that class of people who should have done more. So today I am resting, just lazing around at the convent, trying to rinse the politics out of my brain by reading Cold Mountain.
