Insurgents
“Share your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into your house;
When you see the naked, cover him…..
Then shall your light break forth like dawn
And your healing shall spring up speedily”
-- Isaiah; 58: 7-9
Two of my cousins and I spent several hours this morning and afternoon, going door-to-door in Binghamton, NY, campaigning for Bernie Sanders. We joined with the effort that Citizens Action was coordinating. It was the first time that one of my cousins has done this; he has been involved in politics primarily through the carpenters’ union, and a few “local” environmental and social justice issues.
The other cousin has worked with me on local, state, national, and international issues for over 40 years. Thus, he has gone door-to-door with me dozens of times over the years. The three of us together made for a fun, effective campaign unit. More, while campaigning for Bernie, we were also advocating for other progressive candidates.
Per usual in upstate New York, the weather kept flip-flopping between pleasant and a bitter cold, complete with wing and mixed precipitation. The residents who opened numerous doors for us noted that they admired our dedication, to be outside walking the streets on such a day.
I selected a section of the city where both low-income and college students reside. Other groups were selecting the neighborhoods that might tend to get more attention during campaign season. My cousins were happy to let me decide what neighborhood we would venture into. And I have always been most comfortable with those marginalized by our society.
In times past, I have had associates ask me why I opt to invest as much time as I do in efforts to organize the poor. In fact, I’ve actually had well-intentioned associates tell me that I “waste” too much time on “those people.” But “those people” are my people. Indeed, I have had the opportunity in my life to hang out with rich and powerful people and power and seemingly powerless people -- and everything in between. I identify with the poor and marginalized. It’s as simple as that.
Our results were interesting and encouraging. There were, of course, a lot of folks on the latest record of registered voters there who had moved since the 2014 elections. This is to be expected among both the poor and college student populations. But there were also new residents, who will be participating in the Democratic Primary.
We also stopped in an old dinner, and did some campaigning as we had coffee and/or lunch. The owners of that dinner seemed amused, at first, that we set up a temporary “headquarters” in one of the booths; by the time we were preparing to leave, they were openly supporting our effort to get the vote out for Bernie.
Even within the two sub-groups we spoke with -- the poor and college students (including poor college students) -- we encountered a wide variety of people. Some were old, some were young; both male and female; a variety of skin colors; and on and on. While we were not attempting a scientific survey -- and the results are thus important in the limited context of one large neighborhood -- listening to the residents’ points of view proved worth-while. Two people stated that they might eventually vote for Donald Trump in the general election. One person said he avoids politics altogether, because he is convinced the last “honest” presidential candidate was Ronald Reagan. And only two people stated that they may vote for Hillary in the upcoming Democratic primary.
Other than that, everyone we spoke with was strongly supporting Bernie Sanders. And while this is only speculation on my part, I suspect that they are not among those being polled these days. Today, their voices are not being heard outside of the Sanders campaign. Yet, the Sanders campaign holds the promise of them being heard in the future.
The three of us are all old men. We have each been a registered Democrat since we reached the age where we could vote. But, to a large degree, our lives are behind us. We weren’t campaigning so much for ourselves and our generation’s benefit, as for our children and grandchildren’s generations. And for those who are to come after them.
Still, we had an amazing day. One of my two cousins is the man who was in court one county away during much of the week, for the trial of the guy who shot him, and murdered his son. It was his first time going door-to-door. I had been designated as our spokesman, but I was happy when he took over being our main speaker at several houses. My other cousin was surprised , considering how effective the other one was, that this was his first time.
Both this evening and tomorrow, we will all be working for the Sanders campaign. Each of us will be focusing on our hometowns, and preparing for Bernie’s speech on Monday in Binghamton. I know that Hillary is favored in New York, and I understand why. Still, I believe that the “experts” are going to be surprised by the eventual outcome in our state.
There is an energy force, gaining strength here. There are people who not only want change, but who are willing to work hard to bring that change about. On the ride home, my cousin asked me if I thought that our effort today actually made a difference in the that eventual outcome? I said that I did. Even today, from that small office of Citizens Action, there were lots of people volunteering to canvas different parts of the city. No one group -- much less, individual -- did “the” one thing that will decide the primary election. At the same time, every group and every individual were combining to take one of the most important actions that we can, to influence the outcome of the election contest. And true social justice can only come about by this type of active engagement in politics.
Peace,
H2O Man
= new reply since forum marked as read
H20 Man. You are appreciated!
Thanks also for going out & giving your time for the progressive movement & Bernie. You're truly a gift! 
Thanks for your post 
Thanks for sharing and your good works, H2O Man. 
Happy to be one of your people 
