Normally I might feel a little guilty about leaving good literature in doorways, but it’s campaign season and actually this is one thing I feel virtuous about. It’s not that I enjoy walking around all afternoon trying to find addresses and knocking on strangers’ doors, but I feel it is my duty. I have no right to complain about the electorate making ill-informed decisions, if I haven’t made an effort to educate them. It’s a thankless job, but I did have some interesting experiences.
One preteen told me his mother would vote for my candidate if I hugged him. Another stop was at a nursing home where some of my contacts were dead, some were asleep, and the rest could hardly hear. One fellow from Somalia said he had been a US citizen for ten years but the government still gave him no rights. Another intelligent elderly woman seemed genuinely interested in becoming informed but didn’t know who to believe. I steered her to public radio. The literature was free to me, so maybe I didn’t give away any of my stuff, but I did give away my time and opinions. I’ll deal with giving away heavier literature like books later in the year.
