The first time I walked precincts was in 1972. We lived in a little coastal town just south of San Francisco that was wetter, colder and foggier than San Francisco in August. Our band of McGovern volunteers covered every single house in Pacifica 3 times. If a resident asked questions about McGovern's policies, we returned with a fact sheet on that topic. The response was remarkable and McGovern took Pacifica by 60+ percent. I still remember shaking Senator McGovern's hand at the ILWU hall in San Francisco and finding that a good way to deal with a wary dog at a voter's door is to avoid eye contact with the dog.
The most important thing I learned, however, was that precinct work was the one of the most effective tools to convince voters to vote and to vote for your candidate. Personal contact isn't as easy today. During the 2016 presidential election, I found that people were not willing to open their doors, were not home as much and were fed-up with phone calls. When a friend told me about the Blue Wave Postcard project, I signed-up and I think in the past 4 years I have written over 1,000 post cards. Now I am so very grateful to be able continue my 50 plus years of election volunteering in a way that is effective and doable for my older body. In 1972 I was a very hopeful 24 year old despite the challenges then. I could never have imagined the threat to democracy that we face now.
I am very glad to be part of the whole Blue Wave Postcard project and love having my 76 year old face representing my generation of progressives. I want the younger people to know that many of us are still faithful and working for a better world for them and their children and grandchildren. I spent my career as a social worker and my husband was in dispute settlement. We are thankful for the young people refusing to accept the hate and selfishness that passes for a political philosophy today.
Every one of us can make a difference and that we owe it to our country to try.
-Dianne Cooper