First of all, my apologies for not doing more with this blog. Our hotel had a business center, but there were sometimes lines of folks waiting for a computer, and issues with their internet connection at other times.
I worked hard during the convention to do two things: first, to attend official caucus and convention events in a way that would both well-represent the donors who helped me get there; second, to present the face of the Pagan community, in all its strength and spiritual beauty.
While there were some awesome (literally) moments, it wasn't always easy. Getting the attention of the Obama campaign faith outreach coordinator presented the greatest challenge. Finally, in the end, I slipped him a note, "If there's no room at the table for the Pagan community, just let me know and I'll stop trying to contact you."
That started what appeared to be a productive conversation. Maybe trying to begin a positive relationship at a busy national convention wasn't the best idea. I'll make another attempt this week, once the dust settles, and expect a positive outcome.
After all, the signs of openness, of acceptance of all faith communities, couldn't have been clearer during the interfaith service on Sunday, and the events Thursday night.
One more question...once I either do or do not sort things out with the Obama campaign, I'm planning to close down the blog. It's convention-related after all, and the convention is over. There may be bumps in the road toward mutual understanding involved, but I expect them to be few and far between, and certainly not frequent enough to merit a blog. I would welcome your thoughts on this.
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8 comments:
Personally, I would prefer to seet this blog remain or another one set up in its place. I think it's important to be able to continue to announce any progress made on interfaith communication within the Democratic party. Even infrequent updates are better than no updates at all.
-- Jarred.
I think at the very least it would be valuable to leave the blog up as-is, even if the last post is "We're not posting any more since the convention's over with". I know that I may want to refer back to some of the posts for various reasons, including political discussions
And thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
I second the above; don't delete this blog so that it can still be found if people need it and I'd love to have a new blog for you to keep us updated on your progress with respect to contacting the campaign regarding a Pagan voice within it.
Are you aware of the Pagans for Obama group that's running on Obama's site? You can find it here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PagansforObama. That might be a place to continue your efforts and discuss your progress if you need somewhere to go to.
I believe this blog should remain as a document, and I would like to see you continue blogging about Maine and national politics as and when your party responsibilities allow. Perhaps you could set up a diary on Turn Maine Blue? I started mine last night with some thoughts on Sarah Palin.
While I'm with you that this is a convention-themed blog, I think that there is a political-Pagan-shaped gap in the blogging world. If you do not have it in you to put your personal stories online (it's hard, there's often more ridicule than there is support), I encourage you to keep Blue Pagans as an ongoing political/Pagan blog. Otherwise, perhaps one of your readers can step into the void.
Please keep this blog going! Infrequent posts about state and national political issues are far better than none at all. It is important to keep people informed and energized.
~Raven~
I have to say I agree. I just recently found this blog and myself have struggled with the "end of mission" of a blog. It should remain as a record and don't forget, you can always reinvent yourself. Thank you for doing this work to represent us to the DNC! If drill, baby, drill isn't enough of an urgent impetus to spur the myriad ways and directions you could take your energies and directions, perhaps this inspiring interview from Fresh Air will be: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94385403
To me, Pagan=green in a very special way (I would assume, having not read each of your entries) that that's largely where you stand. Please continue and I will help support if I can (if you seek contributing authors and such, I will make an effort to assist).
Cheers
Awesome info. I agree: infrequent updates are better than no updates at all.
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