Look ‘Em In the Eye

 

Tuesday my state, Colorado, participated in the presidential caucus. This year, since my 15-year-old daughter will vote in the next presidential election, we brought her to witness it. She is also a political junky, so she really wanted to go.

As we left, Maya asked me why I like the caucus so much. Here is what I told her:

There is no hiding. When I walk up to the building, in our case a high school, I can feel the energy of people excited for what is to come if their candidate wins the election. There is always hopeful energy.

People from our neighborhood are all gathered in a giant circle to say the pledge.

Then we go to our room and the fun really begins. Each person gets to speak about why they support their candidate. It is all out in the open. Face to face, we share. Rather we agree with the people who speak is not the point, the point is that we share eye to eye what we think.

I get to find out what really matters to the people who live around me. I get to hear them speak passionately about something they care about. Like when our pediatrician neighbor who talked about needing to care for kids who can’t afford the medication. Like the teacher who stated that she wants all of her students to be able to afford college. Like the lawyer who wants to make sure the DA who is elected actually works to make the courts a better system.

There is no hiding. There is no fudging who you vote for. It is all out in the open, and there is something really magical about that.