CANVASSING STORIES: CIVIC PRIDE EDITION.

Last night I did a canvassing shift in South Philly and I cannot describe how much more awesome it is to canvass your own neighborhood than it is to get outsourced to some other state. I've gone door-to-door in New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia...this was completely different. It's not that the people in Philly were outwardly more similar to me than the people in Ashburn, VA--I was canvassing in a mostly black neighborhood filled with older folks. But for once I felt like what I was doing had a purpose beyond just winning the election. Talking to people in my community has made me a better neighbor and contributed to a civic infrastructure that will (I hope!) last well beyond this particular campaign. That's what political participation should be about, but the vagaries of the Electoral College mean that most people will never get to have the experience I did.