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Signatures Please: A Day in the Life of a Reluctant Activist
As I venture deeper into the bizarro world of political activism, I've discovered an activity so outside my comfort zone that it causes me to break out in hives. I'm referring to the agonizingly tortuous act of signature collecting. Several months ago I made a commitment to assist a local candidate in his race for US Congress. I deeply believe in my candidate's conservative message of limited government and free markets, thus I am willing to take one for the team. I also recognize the vital importance of getting conservative candidates on the ballot.
Last week I was collecting signatures at my local library and had a surreal experience. There I was with my clipboard and phony smile, hoping for the sweet release of death. I had chosen the library that day because the US Census Bureau was putting on an event that I thought might draw a crowd. The event was called the Census Portrait of America Road Tour, a civic outreach and awareness campaign touring cities around the country.
The event included 2 huge tour buses, a big screen TV playing videos and a large network of educational display panels. They had tables loaded with census schwag that they—and by they I mean we the people were giving away. There was a plethora of "free" items including: t-shirts, hats, travel mugs, pens, pencils, magnets, tote bags and chip clips.
A library visitor approached me and I asked for her signature. She was so distracted by the spectacle she said, "Wow! Is this where all my taxes are going?" I could only shrug.
I imagined the census workers to be rather left-leaning in their politics, so I did my best to stay downwind of them as to not engage them in conversation. I was not there to debate anybody, only to collect signatures. Much to my surprise, several of them went out of their way to approach me and they were extremely pleasant. One gentleman brought me 2 tote bags full of "free" stuff. He said one was for me and one for "a friend." I figured me and my imaginary friend were paying for the stuff anyway, we might as well give it a good home.
I was pleasantly surprised by the response I got to asking for signatures. It was a stark difference from the vibes I got from people outside Market Basket, where I was more likely to be told, "I don't even vote" or "I'm all set" (I still don't know what that means). At the library, people were less likely to traverse the entire parking lot just to avoid me. It occurred to me that perhaps library patrons tend to be better educated and more civically engaged than the average citizen. For the most part, they seemed to have a basic understanding of the nomination process and some were eager to learn about my candidate. Another benefit was that they seemed to be in a more leisurely mindset. It sure beats stopping people against their will while they are rushing to the grocery store to pick up some milk.
What I found puzzling about the census being there was that if my theory was correct, the library was probably a poor choice of location for their civic outreach. If these people are indeed civically engaged, wasn't the census preaching to the choir? Why were they spending valuable time and untold amounts of taxpayer money when most people accepting their bag of goodies said they had all ready filled out the census and mailed it in? I'm no marketing genius, but it seems to me that if they wanted to make a real difference, it would make sense to do outreach in neighborhoods where people were less likely to complete the census, yet would benefit most from the resulting public services. Perhaps in the inner city and minority neighborhoods were census participation is notoriously low? But what do I know.
At the end of the day they were packing up and a census worker was nearby filling up her trunk. She asked if she could sign my signature sheet. Unfortunately her residence was outside the district, but I appreciated her making the effort. I could not help but notice her abundance of liberal bumper stickers with slogans like: "All you need is love," "Practice tolerance" and "Give peace a chance." I didn't have the heart to tell her my candidate was a Republican.
About the Author
Christine has a BA in Communications from Truman State University. Before becoming a psychiatric nurse she worked as a zookeeper for 13 years. While in the animal field she traveled extensively around the country presenting educational bird shows. She became passionate about politics over the past several years and is deeply concerned about the ever increasing size and scope of government. Christine is currently serving on the steering committee for the Greater Boston Tea Party.
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