Jump On In - The Water’s Fine
Posted by: Maureen Wilmot 
I spent the last week before the election volunteering for the Obama campaign in the swing state of Virginia. There was no shortage of volunteers in the Arlington office in Northern Virginia, young and old, white and black, Australian, German, British, Danish, a white-haired man from Baltimore drove down one evening in the rain and headed out canvassing with a young man from Manchester England. I spent one evening going door to door in an Arlington neighborhood with a young man from Berlin and woman from London who came over to help out with the Obama campaign. I met a 70-year old woman from Idaho at the airport on my way home who had been in Virginia for two weeks volunteering for the Obama campaign. She felt she could be of more use in a swing state than in Idaho. People were engaged in the process and felt that they were making a difference.
It was an exhausting and exhilarating week of knocking on doors, making phone calls, and waiting for the results. (And for all of you that were sick of getting calls from the Obama camp, you’ll be happy to know that as I sat at the phone bank one afternoon, I too received a call on my cell phone from an exuberant Obama volunteer reminding me to vote on Tuesday!)
On Monday evening, I headed back to my friends house where I was staying and anxiously waited for Election Day. I had the opportunity to check emails from home and read the blog that Dr. Lucy Spelman wrote from her post in Rwanda where she is a veterinarian for the Mountain Gorilla project. She too was waiting, not for the results of US election but for news about the safety of her staff and the gorillas that were in the path of the Tutsi rebels and Congo government armies.
Her blog was in stark contrast to my upbeat week. And it emphasized the fantastic role of the peaceful political process in this country. Whatever your beliefs or causes you can voice it in the process. Whether you are trying to save the oceans or cut taxes, it only works if you jump in and get involved. But hey, Ocean Champions members know that.
Date Posted: November 7, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
This was truly a week of euphoric highs and lows - on many levels. As excited as I am about the prospect of change, I feel as if we are still waiting for the smoke to clear, and I find myself dreading what come to light in the dawn of this new day.
Still, you are spot on - change only comes if people are willing to roll up their sleeves and commit to sharing in the work ahead of us.