Why I joined by Jonellen Riggins (New York)

I am 44 years old, and was raised in a community where participation in the process/system was the best known method for changing the process/system. I have been a registered voter since my 18^th birthday, and believe that voting is one of the most sacred of rights we have as Americans. It demonstrates the sense of responsibility we feel for our neighbors as well as a sense of how we would like the state of our environment to be constructed. I have voted in every state I’ve lived in, including California, Arizona, Maryland and Virginia. I always hope that my vote makes the difference I wanted it to make, and that if it does not make that difference it at least demonstrates that I have no intention of going quietly into the night without the slightest bit of a fight or struggle.

In all of my years of participation I have witnessed far too infrequently a candidate that I believed really understood the issues from the same or similar perspective as my own. It has been most of the time that I voted for what I really thought was the lesser evil candidate, the one that would do less damage than the other, democrat or republican it really did not matter so much, as I don’t really see the difference between either of the parties at this point in time. However, this time it feels different, and not for the obvious reason of skin color. It seems different because the candidate I am supporting is different. I joined this effort because the candidate I think can win the election has demonstrated integrity that has been lacking in political campaigns of recent decades, he has shown that uniting people is more important that dividing people and he has done this without regard to race, creed or color. Ethics and integrity are not the property of one race, doled out on an as needed basis. Ethics and integrity are in each of us and how we choose to use them is solely dependent on what each of us thinks is important and would add value to the human experience and make our nation a better place to be. Senator O’Bama for all of his inexperience according to his critics has demonstrated these two items in spades.

So, now that you all have a general idea as to why I joined this campaign, I would like to extend an invitation to each of you to join my friends list and share with me your ideas, thoughts and feelings about our mutual interest.

Sincerest Regards, Jonallen Riggins NY