By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
One of the key principles of grassroots organizing is the need to “enter the community”. Who knows a community better than the people who live there, have roots there, and are invested in the future for their family and neighbors. This concept is also essential for the traveler. The best travelers I have met are always trying to enter the community, even if it just for a moment. As I was sitting in the parking lot of the Colo-NESCO Jr/Sr High School in Story County, Iowa, I was preparing to be a Precinct Captain for Senator Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential campaign. I had just driven over 1,000 miles from my home in New York City to volunteer during the Iowa caucus. I wasn’t expecting to have to give a speech at a caucus site, but there was a need to fill and I offered to help. Driving from Ames, Iowa, a small college town north of Des Moines, to Colo, I felt a sense of purpose and peace of mind that one rarely feels in life. As the sun set on the snowy fields of rural Iowa, I felt an alignment of my two main passions in life; activism and travel. Once inside the caucus location, I quickly began introducing myself, with a sincere focus on listening rather than speaking, observing rather than judging, and trying to demonstrate my care for their community as a new person in their town. Years of community organizing experience and extensive travel prepared me for this moment. Despite coming from very different hometowns, I met residents of Colo (population less than 1,000) who shared the same values, the same dreams, and the same concerns for our communities, our country, and our planet. One of the Bernie volunteers at the caucus was “Nino”. He was the only Latino in a room full of white residents. When I asked Nino why he supported Bernie Sanders, he said enthusiastically that he believed Bernie was the only candidate who would fight for working people like himself. When I asked him what he did for a living, Nino said retail. I asked what type of retail work and he said with a hint of embarrassment that he worked at the local Wal-Mart. Ultimately, Bernie did not win the caucus site where I was assigned.. Although I was disappointed by the results, I was grateful to have played a small role in our democracy. For years, I have wanted to find a way to combine my dedication to social change with my passion for travel. Whether we are activists, travelers, or neither, it is important we try to see the commonalities we share and appreciate the differences that make each person and place unique. I am continuing on the Bernie Journey. From Iowa I drove to New Hampshire. Now I am headed to North Carolina for Super Tuesday. I will continue to organize and fight for Nino and the millions of others around this country and world who deserve more. Throughout my travels, I have learned that we are one humanity. Through my organizing, I know we need to build power from the bottom up. Any good traveler would have relished the opportunity to be in the gymnasium with me that night. Any experienced organizer would have known I was in the most strategic place I could have been. As the late Malcolm X once said, “I’ve done a lot of traveling and, I think over all, travel does broaden one’s soul.” In Colo, Iowa, I was on the frontlines of a movement. The struggle and the journey continue.