Hello Cruel World! I have been a frequent reader, er, leech would probably be much more accurate, to this site since the 2004 elections. As those of you who are intent on disproving that due to the fact that I have a high member number, well I can only reply by saying that it doesn't take signing up for an account to be a parasite. I came here to read opinions from other liberals - as they were extremely hard to find in Kansas back in those days, or really anywhere. Throughout the past four years I have seen Democrats belittled, beaten, bloodied, and knocked down. We've been counted out, we've been drowned out, and we've been hidden. But we never went anywhere, we held firm, and rejected the CW and the MSM. I have never written a diary (although have started a couple) because I didn't really ever feel comfortable enough to put my name out there (as my username is my real name - although research dictates that there are at least 16,000 other 'Andrew Hodges' out there - including a hero you can read about here.
This is a diary to just introduce myself to the community at large, to finally come out and show my pride in being a Liberal and a Progressive. This last election cycle I worked for the Kansas Democratic Party, and while many might discount Kansans as being true Democrats or Liberals, I can assure you that while we were few, we have grown immensely. I don't always agree with Democrats here in my home state, but that is why we are a big tent party - although I see many becoming more Liberals everyday.
I travelled up to Minnesota after the election - lacking any job prospects and hungry for more action - to volunteer for Al Franken's recount efforts. I spent the next two-to-three weeks being one of hundreds who were dedicating their time to the cause. I didn't challenge ballots, I wasn't a known by anyone even remotely close to working on the campaign, but I filed the challenged ballots away to be scanned and documented, and felt amazing about it.
After a trip to the inauguration with many other KDP alums - the trip of a lifetime, I decided that I needed to actually make some money. I went back to work in the restaurant industry, and spent my free time filling out the immense application for Teach for America. After five months of hard work to get into this amazing program I am now only a few days away from leaving on my exciting journey into the world of educational equality.
I am telling you all of this because this last year has made me a more complete person, a person more grounded in their political ideology, a person who knows now what is important, and a person who is no longer going to linger in the shadows of this wonderful community. I know that at times blogging can become frustrating, and that it is going to be hard to read some of the comments to diaries I will be writing, but such is life, and that is why I am here to declare:
HELLO, CRUEL WORLD!
*Thank you all so much for the warm welcome! I look forward to becoming more of a contributing member of this community and posting about my Teach for America experience, as well as a whole host of other issues. I never in my wildest dreams imaged that I would be on the Rec'd list, and I hope that my future diaries will also inspire both warm responses as well as heated debate here at Daily Kos. Thank you all so much, and I would also like to thank kos himself for creating this much needed community, without it I might still be lurking in the shadows.