Pssst...The Whisper Campaign

Ten days ago, my kids and I went to President Obama's last campaign rally ever in Des Moines, Iowa. "You caught history," is one way a friend described it. 

A couple of days later, I received a phone call from our town's newspaper editor. Because of my job, that is not an uncommon occurrence. Peggy's number is posted directly above my work phone. 

"So... I've heard that you were in Des Moines on Monday for the President's rally?"

"Yes, my kids and I went. It was pretty amazing."

"I have a great photo of the President addressing the crowd and I'm going to mention some of us who were there. May I include your name and your kids?"

Well...uhm...I DID post it on Facebook pretty loudly and wrote about it here, so...

"Of course."

The paper comes out on Thursday night and sure enough, there was a very great photo taken by one of Grinnell's foremost photographers, Henry Wilhelm. One can easily say that Henry is one of the more important people in photography, period. Google him and you will find out why.

Our names were mentioned in the cutline with other Grinnellians who had also attended.

And then it happened. I went to the women's room at work and a co-worker says to me, "So, you are an Obama supporter?.... Me too. I just don't ever talk about it at work unless I KNOW that the other person is a democrat, too."

We had a lengthy discussion, mostly she talked and I listened, about being careful to keep one's political views to themselves at work. I spent four years studying political science and psychology at university and was kinda eating this up. It now feels like we have this little secret society going.

Then, on Monday, a senior officer at work stops me in the kitchen. "So, you are an Obama supporter?" 

I'd always known that she was most certainly NOT an Obama supporter and thought to choose my words carefully.

"I saw in the paper that you went to the rally in Des Moines."

Uhm...think, think... and before I could say a word, she said, "I am a huge supporter of the President."

No. Way. 

Well, THAT lightened up the mood.... It was also a quiet, whispered kind of conversation that was very similar to the one just days before. And it struck me that we each felt like we were sharing some kind of secret about ourselves that others may look on with disapproval if we actually said it out loud. I thought to myself, this IS Grinnell, right? I'm not back home where the race used to be decided by the GOP primary and the county democrats could meet comfortably in someone's living room... Things have changed there, but it is still a republican stronghold. And I get it.  I worked for three republican elected officials from a US Member of the House, to a US Senator, and a republican mayoral candidate in Omaha. I get it.

Interesting, too, that we were cautious in our comments immediately following one of the most loud, polarizing, and longest elections that I can remember. 

Isn't it interesting the things that cause us to pause?