A Beautiful Congressman from Tennessee. - A visit to my high

[Sasafrás]

OK, I go to a predominately African-American public inner-city high school in the United States of America. Today, fortunately, we had many speakers present at our school and they were able to get us all out of class :) Anyway, Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (of Tennessee) visited and he spoke to us about some crap involving legislation and such. I barely listened.
So, after the bell rang for us to move to our next class period, I stayed to get his signature and perhaps speak to him a bit about some of my views. After walking behind him for about 40 feet, he stopped and I was able to ask him, "OK, Congressman Ford, I've noticed an increase in young people today, including myself, who are a bit on the 'left side' of politics and are discouraged with the United States government and anti-capitalist. What would you say to these young people to persuade or convince them that the U.S. government and capitalism are not as bad as they think?" Congressman Ford responded by saying that, first off, at least those types of ideas can be expressed here in this country (I do not necessarily agree, but anyway..) and that we wouldn't have to worry about, and I quote, "being shot." I was a bit indifferent to those statements. He also said that as people with ideas and differences, we should do all that we can to get involved so that we can change the system and improve it. I agree.. This is what really touched me though. He basically said that, as far as those who have issues with capitalism, he can somewhat see why. "Capitalism, when it works (or functions) to its excess, unfortunately keeps a majority down here while keeping only a few up here." Of course, when saying "up here" and "down here," Congressman Ford was referring to the economic "pyramid," if you will. I just thought I'd share that with everyone here. :) Anyway, I admire Congressman Ford a lot. He's a African-American man (a politician!) from the same city in which I live who is actually trying to do something positive and he really is concerned about the welfare of the people (especially those in the state & district he represents) and he is very concerned with advancing education in the state of Tennessee. That hits me since I am a student myself. Plus, Congressman Ford also managed to be on the list of People’s Beautiful People :) That’s pretty cool..
Any comments? Anyone know this guy? Hell, is anyone from Tennessee or am I the only one here?!

[I Will Deny You]

My dad's a black guy from the South. He's not from Tennessee, but he knows a lot about that "being shot" business. Trust me, as much as America sucks, people made some great sacrifices in the South to save it from being even worse.

Ford seems really cool, though. I never read about him in People but what little I know about him, I like. At least your black representative can vote, mine can't. (She sits there and simply takes notes for everyone here in the District of Columbia.) And of course, anyone involved in the public school system is an incredibly wonderful person (myself included :)). He sounds like quite a mensch. Do you know if he's sponsoring any bills or anything like that? I know one of those Georgetown interns, maybe she could get a bunch more information for you.

You're 17, right? Do you think you'll vote for him in this next election? I would if I were you, since he's such a booteeful person and all.

PS - Do you Deep South'ers consider DC part of the South? Everyone I talk to says something different, about whether we're the North or South.

Woah, sorry. I asked you way too many questions, but unfortunately I'm too lazy to go back and edit this post. You can just ignore whatever you don't feel like answering.

[Supermodel]

Way to go Rainbeaux!!!

Thanks for speaking up and thanks for sharing with us!!! Imagine that, a fairly smart guy in congress!!

[Sasafrás]

You know, I'm not too sure if he's sponsoring any bills because I never hear much about him. If you can, please have the Georgetown intern get some info, I'd like to know more about our congressman.
I'll be 17 on February 13 (everybody, wish me a happy birthday!) :) I'll be able to vote next year, but I don't know if he'll be "up" for re-election or whatever then. Whenever I can vote for him, I most likely will.
I don't even consider Tennessee to be the Deep South much (though I often yell "Dirty south!" when in public). I do consider DC to be the south, it's just not northern in my opinion.

[Sasafrás]

Sorry, for this pointless post, but you (Supermodel) posted while I was posting. Anyway, you're welcome! :)

[I Will Deny You]

Happy (early) 17th birthday. You must be, what, a junior? I hope you're taking theater classes. How long until the SAT?

Representatives are up for re-election every two years. Maybe you can volunteer for his campaign, since you're a few months short of being able to vote for him.

My father says DC's not the North, because the only place he's lived in for a long time in the North was Vermont, which was "a lot whiter than it is here." But he still hasn't said if DC's the South because, "the Soul Food here sucks and the white people aren't in-bred." I have enough white friends from the South to know that in-bred thing is (mostly) bullshit, but I just laugh. "They're in-bred and they want all your money"--now you know.

As long as he's smart, kind-hearted and apparently beautiful, I say you marry him. I've been to southern weddings and they're the best. People in the south can really sing!

Good Lord, can I get off topic. Did he give you any materials about specifics for his campaign? Sometimes they want campaign aides to be a specific age, and if you're not at a certain age you'll spend most of your time stuffing envelopes. You should try to get a job where you can go out and meet people, but going door-to-door sucks. It looks good on college applications, though. Especially a congressman who leans to the far left, since it shows you have a backbone and your own ideas when you don't go center-of-the-road, but it's still nice to have some "establishment" volunteerism on your record in case you apply to a conservative-ish place that would be offended by, say, the local communist party or perhaps NORML and PETA. (PETA is more annoying than offensive, though.)

Also, volunteering for a campaign gives you lots of contacts, which I would kill for if I were you because road trips are great and the South is the perfect place for them, and if you don't have contacts you'll have no one to let you crash for a night or two.

I'll stop typing before my fingers fall off.

[Sasafrás]

OK, I can't type much here because my dad will need the PC soon. Anyway, the whole in-bred thing, from what I've gathered, is typically associated with good 'ol Arkansas. But, I'm not one to stereotype. Yes, I'm a junior and no, I'm not in theatre arts. I have yet to take the SAT, but I took the ACT and received a 22 (36 being the highest) both times.
Well, I love soul food. My mama sure can make some good greens and cornbread :)
Good idea about volunteering for Ford Jr.'s campaign. I do like him a lot and I think he's a pretty great guy. Plus, I'm interested in politics though I usually do not agree with the people involved. Thanks for the idea, I'll surely look into it. :)
Gotta go! Peace & Love..