We’re In It Together
This video epitomizes the spirit of what we’re trying to articulate with the Obama Craft Project site. (And it’s definitely the only “Crafty” YouTube video that that Obama Campaign has uploaded.) By posting your projects to this site, we try to celebrate Barack Obama’s positive message, and crafters’ response to that message. We love that a virtual community of makers of all types that have come together to support the Campaign for Change, and have articulated–via knitting, sewing, printmaking, collage and many other mediums–the belief and commitment to transforming this nation.
We’ve had some “issues” the last few days or so with the site and our Flickr pool with folks who feel the need to tear us, and other Obama supporters, down for whatever reason. We’ve received some vicious comments on this site, angry photos hae been uploaded to our Flickr pool and mean comments have been left on our–and others’–Obama-related images. There’s even the possibility, according to our web host, that there may have been some nefarious attempts to get gain access the admin area of the Obama Craft Project site. That means that there’s been significant periods of time when we’ve been unable to access the site ourselves, which means less posting of your wonderful work.
We’d be lying if we said it didn’t upset us just a bit. We’d like to think that even if we disagree, that we’re all Americans and that we can work together to solve the tough challenges ahead. It’s disappointing to realize that not everyone feels that way. It’s frustrating to realize that the mere existence of this site makes people so angry–”appalled” as one individual wrote.
But, we don’t dwell on the negativity, we know it’s often a part of these long, emotional campaigns that are the reality of modern American politics. Instead, we remember these words from our candidate on what seemed to be a disappointing night after Barack’s close loss in the New Hampshire primaries,
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
Yes we can.
Election Day is in one week.
3 comments
I’ve been wearing one of the bottlecap pendants Heather and Carla posted here a few weeks back–they sent me three, in exchange for help with getting more “hope” charms. So, what to do with the other two? I knew one had to go to our school secretary–she’s been my Obama buddy since the early spring. Then yesterday my daughter’s teacher asked if I had any more–not for herself, but for a colleague. We went and found the other teacher,and I gave her the pendant from my own chest. So, a secretary and a teacher–that’s who’s wearing the other pendants this week.
For folks who like to make things, this stuff seems obvious–if you want it, you get creative and make it. But for so many others, these pins and flags and shirts and bags and banners are startling –”Wait, you *made* it? Didn’t take a lot of time? And you’re not making any money from this? You’re mailing how many of them to strangers in North Carolina?” The objects themselves, and the ways they’ve been displayed and exchanged, bear witness to a commitment to community, to creativity, to generosity. That vision is apparently threatening to a few people, but I’m persuaded to believe that it’s refreshing and exciting to many more. Hang in there.
This is the only campaign related website I’ve joined / been a part of. Why? Because I think it is entirely positive. Because it takes a creative, community-centered approach to politics. Because it celebrates civic engagement in a respectful, deliberative way. Because the focus isn’t really on candidates so much as it is on people across the country making small gestures that resonate. One funny thing I noticed at the Screenprint for Change party: no one there engaged in tearing down anyone else. I don’t even remember hearing the names of any political opposition. That’s amazing.
I think it would be wonderful if crafters of all political leanings took a similar approach to organize. I would love to see some corn cob art of Bob Barr, in the vein of the Mitchell, SD corn palace, for example. I would love to see a crocheted Sarah Palin doll. And I would probably say, as Penny does, “wow, someone made that?” Some teacher, secretary, mom, non-profiteer, librarian, dad, nurse, doctor, writer made that?
And I think the positive, celebratory nature of the site has a lot to do with you, Sarah and Josh. Good work!
Thank you for creating such a positive place to celebrate creativity! I am so inspired seeing the crafts that everyone makes and hearing the stories behind them. You two do a beautiful job of sustaining this community and I’m sorry there have been some “issues” plaguing your website.
I’m with Sarah, the party you hosted was so much fun and it didn’t even occur to me until later that there was no mention whatsoever of the opposition – there’s just so much to be excited about on this side of things.
Thanks for all your work and for connecting us with each other!