Allyanne receives Karita Hummer's Golden Pen Award for: "Dear John Edwards and Family. My apologies for the lack of brevity. I needed to express this.

Winner of Karita Hummer's Golden Pen Award


Dear John Edwards and Family. My apologies for the lack of brevity. I needed to express this.


http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/1/30/183416/706#commenttop

user icon allyanne in Diaries Feed of allyanne's Diary
1/30/2008 at 6:34 PM EST

Dear John and Elizabeth Edwards,

First, I wish to say that, while I am deeply saddened by your decision to suspend your presidential campaign, and I wish so immensely that you would remain in the race, I respect your decision and realize that you have done what you feel you must.I heard the news just before my last class for the day, around noon. (I speak of this as though it were a tragedy, because to me, at the time, it was). I was leaving the laboratory in which I work, and one of my colleagues, who often teases me about being sensitive, saw me crying. She didn't know what was going on, and was afraid I was upset about something in lab. I told her that I was devastated because MY candidate, AMERICA's candidate, had just announced the suspension of his campaign.

This was especially sad, as I had taken the afternoon off from lab today to do some phone banking. I am a little on the shy side, and yet I have been talking to complete strangers in class and on campus, and handing out flyers from welikeedwards.com, with absolute confidence and pride regarding your message, telling them why you are the greenest, the most progressive, the most compassionate and genuine candidate on either side of the spectrum. And they have listened. You have been garnering ever more support, especially since the South Carolina debates (I think that your outstanding performance came too late to give you the boost you needed in South Carolina, as many people already had their minds made up and, as the saying goes, didn't wish to be confused with the facts). My deepest regret is that I have not been an official member of your campaign for a longer period of time. Guilt nibbles at me, for I take some infinitesimal slice of the blame for my lack of involvement earlier in the race. I know one person doesn't always make an immense difference, but every infinitesimal slice together makes up the area under the curve. But I digress. I wish to let you know that you inspired this jaded college student to have a little hope that maybe, this time, there was finally a candidate who, if nominated, wouldn't leave me caught between Scylla and Charybdis in the general election. To say it more positively....I finally saw a candidate who wasn't an "anyone but....(insert somebody I don't want to be president here)" candidate. I was looking forward so immensely to being able to vote FOR someone instead of AGAINST somebody else. I was genuinely excited and inspired to help with your campaign, to get your message out there and inspire people as you have me. I wish perhaps more than almost anything I have ever wished for that you could stay in the race, that the presidency was not some terrible hybrid of American Idol and a commodity sold to the highest bidder. I am still voting my conscience on February 5th, here in Oklahoma, where I know you had an excellent chance. Your presence in this race has continuously elevated the discourse and forced a focus on issues that truly matter. Furthermore, your presence in this race has been inspiring to me not only politically, but in the parallels I can draw to my own life. The amount of support you have generated despite the odds against you in this year's race are absolutely inspiring, but more inspiring than that is the DEPTH of that support. I have yet to meet an Edwards supporter who isn't well-informed and passionate about what you have to say, AND what you plan to DO. Your presence in this race, your ability to say, "I'm going to have my incredible, inspiring, progressive agenda, to do what I know is right for America instead of checking boxes that I supposedly need to check in order to get elected," inspires me in my undergraduate career and my aspirations to go to medical school and get an md/phd. Since becoming involved in your campaign, I have been much happier with myself and what I am doing in school, doing ALL of the things that I love, including music, writing, and volunteer work that isn't necessarily the cookie-cutter medical school applicant work, that is for the sake of a greater good and because it is my passion, not because I am checking boxes to pander to a certain school. I feel that what I am doing, on my own path, will ultimately have a much greater chance of having an immense positive effect on the lives of others, my ultimate goal above all else in my professional and personal life, BECAUSE I am truly passionate about it. Everything else will fall into place accordingly, and the opportunities that I receive, the people and places that are receptive to that, are where I want to be and who I want to be with. I feel that your campaign, and its supporters, are of this caliber, of this depth. They appreciate you for your passionate stances on everything from global warming to health care to the genocide in Darfur. I know, we know, and I hope you know, that America is a much better place with your voice and your activism in it, at whatever capacity you choose, because your heart is truly in it. Even people I have talked to who were not official "supporters" had and still have deep respect for you. I think that you would have been pleasantly surprised by the reflection of this profound respect in the polls on Super Tuesday and am truly sorry to see that you have suspended your campaign for the presidency, but I am also immensely happy that you have not and will not ever suspend your campaign for the things in which you believe so profoundly and passionately. I feel as though you speak from my own heart when you use your success, the opportunities that you have created for yourself, to give others a chance and a voice. I hope to continue hearing from you. All my absolute best to you, to Elizabeth, to Cate and the entire family. All of you are an inspiration. Thank you for a noble and inspiring campaign.

Sincerely,
Ally Beasley
Norman, Oklahoma