OFA Fail

I figured a follow-up to my OFA praise was due, though my tune has changed.

Basically, I'm done volunteering. I might chip in another $10 or $15 if the emails get particularly persuasive, but I'm no longer convinced my actions really matter.

It's ironic that the campaign has actually inspired political apathy, but here's how it happened:

First of all, hearing Michella Obama speak live was pretty cool, but it wasn't cool waiting on hold for fifteen minutes first. Nonetheless, it was exciting to hear her voice when at last she came on the line. She was "thrilled" to be on the call and assured us that volunteers like us are President Obama's "compass, his guiding light, what keeps him going!" She reminded us we need to work harder than ever, because we've done a lot in a short time but desperately need to keep the momentum.

I agreed, though I didn't make it to the phone banking event two days later. I did, however, pay attention to the email I received the following weekend alerting me to the reestablishment of the OFA phone-on-your-own database.

I loved that database in 2008 because it let me take action without leaving my couch. So when an OFA official asked me to make just ten measly phone calls, I was all over it.

And then I started calling. No answer, no answer, no answer. Message, message, message. Even with a digital script provided I was out of practice and no doubt garbled a name or two in my voice mails, but I trudged on, understanding the importance of getting first-time 2008 voters back to the polls.

Around call seven I made human contact, and that's also when I called it quits. Because the woman sounded old, possibly frail, and she was not happy to hear from me. Yes, she was planning to vote—and how many more people were going to call and remind her? I was mortified and backed off as quickly as possible.

Why, OFA, are you asking me to disturb elderly women who are already voting? I'm sure you have reasons, but at this stage in the game, I don't think my phone soliciting is going to make a (positive) difference. Seems to me like there are plenty of other people already making those calls, so, I'm out. Fingers crossed for Nov. 2....