Thursday, 14th August 2008
Cambridge, MA

The Cambridge community can help bring about a fundamental change in Washington...become a voice for change!

As a junior in high school the fall of 1960, Linda was President of the Springfield, OH Youth for Kennedy chapter. When John and Bobby Kennedy came to speak in the town, 50 miles west of Columbus, Linda got to sit on a little platform on stage. “John Kennedy first inspired me to vote,” Linda said. “JFK’s campaign, like Barack Obama’s, was also about hope and optimism.”

Now, Linda works at Wittenberg College, also in Springfield, as an events coordinator in the Alumni Office. She is years removed from her days supporting Kennedy’s presidential campaign, but sees the same promise in Barack. “The history I’ve lived through has allowed me to recognize his fabulous leadership when I saw him,” she said. Through this campaign she has volunteered her home to be used to house visiting supporters, contributed to the campaign and made clear her willingness to do whatever is needed. “I’m going to get involved through campus if necessary and do things there. One way or another we’ve got to get him elected.”

Obama says that we’re not going to be governed by fear. He’s very intelligent and he does not talk down to us. He doesn’t tell us things are going to be easy. He says that we’re Americans and if we come together, if we can have hope and optimism, we can solve our problems. He respects his fellow Americans and talks above the petty politics. I really admire that.
As Linda explains, much of the Wittenberg motto echoes Barack’s approach to politics and his life story.

At Wittenberg our motto is ‘Having light, we pass it onto others.’ We want the students to take that education and go out into the world, make a difference. This is a lot of what Barack Obama has said and has done in his life. It’s not enough to be a citizen; you have to be active in the life of our country.
The circumstances this country is facing and Barack’s message of greater political participation has persuaded Linda that her ideas and her effort are needed. “I’m working on a committee to elect a female democrat in our district to congress. It’s the first time I’ve ever done this,” she said. “This time we’re at a point where people have to stand up and be counted. You can’t just give lip service – the times require this.” Like Barack, Linda believes deeply in a commitment to public service.

Barack’s Christian faith has formed a lot of his values. At Wittenberg we have a strong service component. I see that in Barack Obama. He says that we’re in this together. Our country needs us to be active, whether it be in politics, government, the school board or state government. Right now, I’m very pessimistic about the direction our country is going in. Obama says that we can be better than we are, we can do more than we’ve done.
Linda has made the decision to take part in this campaign. For her, even without a huge salary, she can’t sit on the sidelines because the stakes are too high.

I work in education, so I don't make a whole heap of money. But you have to prioritize. I’ve given a few times and will give more. If not me, then who else? This is important. This is our future. Republicans have spent millions of dollars – we have to counter that. We’re not going to roll over, but it takes money to hit back.
The response to Barack’s campaign throughout Ohio and the country has amazed Linda. Even in her community, which is traditionally republican, her neighbors are standing up for change. “I’m seeing people my age, in their 60s, who have never been involved in politics, never been politically active in their lives, say that now is the time, and Barack Obama is the person who can lead us out of the mess that we’re in,” she said. “We’ve had it with the way things are. For our children and for our grandchildren we need to win this election.”

Voices for Change is a series featuring profiles of Barack Obama's grassroots supporters from across the nation. The people who make up this movement come from all different backgrounds, but they share a common goal – to help bring about fundamental change in Washington.