A friend of mine "finally" signed the petition. This is awesome, especially because he's one of the rare independent-minded friends I have. Not that I'm ripping on any of my other friends, but I'll put it bluntly: I'm blessed with a lot of like-minded friends this fall, and I tend to gravitate towards people of the same political bent. I think most of us do that.
ANYWAY, he made a tongue-in-cheek comment about the need for door-to-door canvassing during the recall. His comment was, "Maybe they should do door-to-door canvassing, I had to seek out a petition." My comment back was, "Maybe you should volunteer!" Believe me, we're nearly there. We've been doing well without it thus far in Eau Claire, posting people on busy corners and awaiting drive-thrus. Partially because of this, we've yet to hit the neighborhoods door-to-door.
Both of us are joking - a little. He is right - it's time for us to start with the door-to-door work. We're doing well so far without it, but that work is likely to be coming soon. Not everyone drives past us and has time to stop just then. And I know he's a busy guy - two little kids and a job with weird hours. I can't fault him that much for not volunteering.
On the other hand, I've been blessed to meet so many folks that chip in any spare time they have to this effort. It's overwhelming. It makes me wonder, if we had a little more time and a few more people, just what we could accomplish. We could move mountains in Wisconsin.
We don't always have the energy all the time to get out and hit the pavement. I know I don't - I need time to rest, to relax, play music, and spend time with my family. I'm probably not the leading volunteer out of Eau Claire. But that's the best thing about it - you don't need to be either. One hour, one Saturday, two hours on a Thursday afternoon, just a little bit here or there - you can make the difference. You can be one more person that stood up to power in Wisconsin.
They rely on you staying home, not paying attention, and accepting the status quo. You challenge it with every comment, every signature you get, every happy honk you hear, and believe it or not, every negative comment you choose to ignore.
There is not a prize for the best volunteer. If there is, I don't think I'll win it. I've seen too many great people out there giving more than I could even imagine. But there is no greater reward worth striving for than a better government.
So, to my friend who has not volunteered yet - it's awesome that you posted your political preference on your facebook page in the first place. It's awesome that you signed. To my other friends working hard out there in the trenches, THANK YOU! Our victory is there in every moment that our hearts are in it. Keep moving ahead! Signature after signature, vote after vote, conversation after conversation - we will win this fight simply because it's being fought. As long as apathy remains dead, our cause lives a very healthy life. Wisconsin will be ours!
