I’d never been to a political rally before yesterday. And if I’d been asked two years ago to cross the street to attend one, it’s likely I would have said no. It’s probably a fair guess that the same thing was true for a good percentage of the 8,000 or so people who joined us at the Roanoke Civic Center for the Obama Rally.
One of the most exciting things about this particular presidential race has been the way Barack Obama has convinced people to become involved with the political process. No matter the outcome of Nov. 4, I look forward to seeing the increase in voters coming out to the polls.
It was exciting to look at the array of folks piling in to the arena, people from all walks of life, greeting each other with smiles and expectation. I was impressed to see strangers dancing and clapping their way to their seats to the sounds of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Even the Mayor of Roanoke was grooving as he walked around the arena waving up at the stands.
We were nearly an hour from where we live, but I was happy to recognize faces from the university where I work, from the farmers market where I’m a vendor, and from the church I attend. And I was amazed by the number of parents who took their children out of school to be there.
I couldn’t deny there was something powerful about simply being present, an inexplicable momentous feeling. A biblical phrase kept coming to my head: a cloud of witnesses. We were here to testify that we stood behind this candidate, appreciated his including Southwest Virginia on his campaign trail, and hoped to be a part of the first presidential election since 1964 that would turn our state blue.
If it’s even remotely possible, I thought, this was the man who could make it happen. And even though I knew we’d already heard most everything he had to say on television, when I saw him step into the arena and climb the steps of the platform, I got the chills. I whispered a fervent prayer–one I will keep chanting for the next 17 days: Please let this be the next President of the United States.
Taryn Chase will ride her cloud to the voting precinct and hopes someone gives her a dang sticker this year!
1 response so far ↓
1 Chris Schumske // Oct 20, 2008 at 2:52 am
Hey Taryn,
Living in P.A. has given my family and I a unique opportunity to witness history in the making. I took 2 of my 4 daughters to an Obama rally at a community park. Both Barack and Joe Biden were there with their wives. It was the evening after the convention and it was amazing. As you mentioned the crowd was made up all types of people. We stood only 20 yards away from the future president and when he spoke you could sense not only the excitement but the hope that was in the crowd. It was also a bonus that after the rally we got Barack to autograph a copy of the Rolling Stone Magazine with him on the cover. It’s been framed, along with the ticket to the rally, and it will reside in our living room for the rest of our lives. Hopefully P.A. will get it right this time and elect Obama to the White House
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