BLOCK WALKING in 2018

Knocking on a stranger's house door feels intimidating, even though the information you will give them will be well received. You're afraid the one on the opposite end of the political spectrum will open the door, and if they do, you hope with all your might that it will be without a gun. However, the person on your list might have moved or died. They might even be part of a divided household, with their marriage held together by baling wire because of political beliefs wider than a fissure just before an earthquake.

Activists in my county are knocking on the door of every person who voted Democrat. They might be people who only voted in the last Primary, or they might have just voted in 2016 as a Democrat, or they may have voted somewhere else as a Democrat. Chances are reasonably sure that Democrats live there. One of our Precinct Chairs from our largest town uses data from 2008. I warned her that some of those people might have passed away since the average age in our county is 64, but she won't be deterred. She's determined to reach all 500 in her Precinct, even though only 164 voted in the last Primary. She's a warrior.

The demographics of my Precinct are slightly different. The average age is somewhere in the '70s. I attend the largest church in my town. Last Sunday, the off-duty police officer told me the average age of our congregation is 84. You might wonder, as I do, why we have an off-duty police officer (actually 3) at our church services. I live in an area with very wealthy Republicans. If you've read the research on the psychological difference between Republicans and Democrats, you will find that Republicans are fear-based at their core, while Democrats are generally optimists. Our church is located in the hills high above Lake LBJ. A few homes are scattered about in the hills, but it's sparsely populated. Go figure.

Our Precinct has 171 people who voted Democratic using data from the Primaries in 2016 and 2018, along with "probable" people who voted as a Democrat at one time. We divided 171 of those people into 5 groups. We had 8 people either going in pairs or solo to knock on doors. I decided to block walk by myself for 15 doors, then go with someone else to reach another 50 people.

No one told me about the adrenal rush you experience as you talk to people in their homes. No one I met had ever experienced another Democrat knocking on their door to encourage voting. Like many of us in this town, they thought they were the only Democrats living here. Our newspapers are full of pictures from well-attended Republican events. Our small group of Democrats tries to publicize meetings. When Beto came to town and drew 450 people to a Democratic political event, it was shocking to many. As I visited with them, it was evident that they felt enthusiasm for their party and that someone of like mind was knocking on their door. Several of the people I spoke to have yet to discuss politics with their neighbors because of the great political divide in our town. We're simply outnumbered by people who nastily condescend to those of us who don't have the same political beliefs as they do.

Earlier this year, I was elected (unopposed) to the board of the Property Owners Association in our town, which represents all 7700 properties. I've had my picture in the paper a few times, so everyone on the board knew I was not one of them in a political sense and probably every other sense. One of the couples pulled me aside at a dinner party shortly after the POA election. They explained that they had a fund-raiser for Obama in 2008. Not long after their event, they were ostracized in our town. Now, they support Trump. I was speechless. How does one go from supporting Obama to turning 180 degrees to becoming a Trump supporter? I didn't ask that question because it's rhetorical anyway. I said I'll be damned if I'm intimidated by the possibility that the whole town will stop speaking to me. I will continue to stand up for what I believe. 

The tide is beginning to turn. People are sick and tired of the nasty political verbiage in our country, spewing toxicity from the WH and all through Congress. It has emboldened people who typically would have been civilized to become hostile to everyone who disagrees with them. Critical thinking and researching before a conclusion have been forgotten, with fake news, lies, and twisted facts becoming the norm. People are hungry for decency in our country and government. They will vote for people with a message of uniting our country and not one of divisiveness. Enough is enough.

I finished yesterday on a high. I found people just like me, and they were only a knock away. 






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