Why I'm Hosting My First Political Fundraiser

I'm not a political person. The truth is, I'm a pleaser. I couldn’t handle the pressure of politics, the discourse or the debates — although if you asked my husband, he'd tell you I’m a master at debate when I'm truly upset about something. I'm a highly emotional person, and when I believe in something, I feel it in my soul.

I believe in my soul that this country should re-elect Barack Obama as President of the United States. And I’m trying to make that happen by doing something I never thought I’d do before—I’m co-hosting my first political fundraiser on Sept. 6.

Here's my humble analogy , which I hope serves as some explanation. I'm four years into the process of writing a children's novel. I'm a writer, but I've never written a children's novel (or any novel) before. I've asked for a lot of advice...some of it great, some of it, well, not so much. I've written a first draft, edited it, shared it with as many readers as possible, and revised it again. And again. And again. And again. It never feels completely finished because nothing is ever perfect, but I've shared it with agents, who've also offered their opinions. Some of those opinions have been glowing, and others have been harsh. In my heart, though, I believe in my characters, my plot and my message. The path to publication has taught me that a novel may be written by one person, but it takes many, many more to bring it to the public. And, after four years in this process, I'm now aware of one of the most important tools a writer needs: patience.

I could give up right now. I could say, "You know what? I tried my best. I wrote a novel. It might not be published, but I know I got pretty far." I could let the rejections kill my spirit (and they almost have). I could start to believe what the naysayers think. I could scrap the whole thing, put it in a drawer and move on to a new challenge. But I'm sticking to it, because I know the fight is worth it.

And so, when I see donations slowing down to the Obama campaign, I know I need to do something to help. There are those who have lost patience, and I understand that. I've felt that, too. But I'm not giving up on the feeling I have deep in my soul that we are a better nation because of Obama than we would have been with McCain and Palin—or would be with Romney and Ryan. I'm not giving up on the fact that this President is working in the toughest political environment the country has ever seen. And I'm not giving up on my belief that Obama can win this election even when the naysayers want to shred him to pieces.

Patience and perseverance are the reasons I'm holding this fundraiser, because I believe it's necessary, I believe our country is great, and I believe in Barack Obama.

As a side note for regular readers: City of Evanston officials are working to answer the you posed in my last few posts. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you as soon as I've collected all the answers.