He must be judging by the reaction I received Sunday morning as I was selling newspapers here in San Antonio. For the last couple of weeks each Sunday I have been selling papers. I decided it would be a good thing for a few reasons and I actually enjoy it. I like people so this was a fun way to meet a wide variety of people……..until I decided to get a little creative and show some support.
I made a small sign that only said VOTE OBAMA 08. Withing minutes I was getting a reaction and not the one that I was expecting. I was hoping for some honks and thumbs up. People seemed liked they were in a good mood and the tips were showing it. Once I put that sign up everything changed. It started with some older guy dressed up in his spiffy church gear yelling out the window,”Obama’s a Muslim terrorist”. Well thanks to the red light I was able to set him straight and enjoyed watching him drive away fuming.
Next some hill billy red neck pulled right up to me. He had a old crappy truck and N Carolina plates and demanded to know if that was my sign or if the Newspaper was also supporting Obama.
I calmly smiled and reminded my new hill billy friend that this was America and I was going to say and do whatever I wanted. I didn’t need his approval and if he didn’t like it there was NOTHING he could do about it 
He pulled off. So now I was ready for the love. Some people did see the sign and responded in a positive manner. But after a while I decided to put the sign up on the pole and not right next to me. I had the feeling that some of these people were so riled I better play it safe. Now I’m debating to bring a even bigger sign this week Have you encountered anger and hate for stating something so mild as who you’d like to see elected President ?
I wanted to share about a special I watched by myself on HBO called Section 60, it’s a documentary about the saddest acre on earth, the section of Arlington National Cemetery that contains all the members of the military that died in Iraq and Afghanistan. I cried countless times while watching. It was an excellent non political recounting of the affects on the families. While I was watching I thought of what George Bush would be thinking as they showed thousands of grave markers.
My heart goes out to the families in the story. All the small children left fatherless. Young wives left to decide what to do next. It was a deeply touching show and if you have HBO I would suggest you watch it. I was able to watch it by myself which I appreciated because it let me really feel the sorrow of the whole experience.
Having a son myself I can only imagine the heart break these families have experienced please take a moment to reflect on the people that have made the ultimate sacrifice. God Bless them All.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Twitter: kikolani
(3 comments) October 15, 2008 at 5:19 pm
It just goes to show the lack of open-mindedness. Maybe those people should be reminded that there is something called freedom of speech, and this is a democracy where the people have the right to choose the person they think will be best to lead our country. I won’t blast you for your choice if you don’t blast me for mine. And if you have a problem with me voting for this candidate, put your voice where it really counts and vote for the other one.
~ Kristi
Kikolani – Poetry | Photography | Blogging Tips´s last blog post..Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty