Spark a personal connection

A couple of months have passed since I finally crossed the finish line of coming out to my inner circle of family and friends. During this time, I considered the next step in my journey and decided that I needed to become involved with my generation’s civil rights movement: marriage equality. But I did not know where to start. There are so many organizations working for the cause that it kind of overwhelmed me. So I didn’t do anything for a while but kept this thought in my mind.

Last month, I received an email from the Courage Campaign about Camp Courage and it was exactly what I needed to get educated and involved. Camp Courage was developed by seasoned LGBT community organizers and inspired by and modeled after Camp Obama, a grassroots organizing body that spread nationally and went door to door, campaigning for President Obama in the 2008 national election. I had read very positive reviews of the program and wanted to experience what it was all about.

In two days, I learned basic community organizing skills geared towards overturning Proposition 8 in the next election. I learned more about the effectiveness of the Yes on Prop 8 campaign and the ineffectiveness of the No on Prop 8 campaign; then I got upset. Not because Yes on 8 folks had succeeded, but because the No on 8 folks had failed to do enough. Many of us - Prop 8 opponents - thought that attending fancy fundraisers and writing a check would do the job; that we had done our part and that someone else would carry on our responsibility to campaign and sway voters to our side. But we were clearly proven wrong, and the LGBT community lost marriage equality in the state of California. And so the struggle for marriage equality continues.

Our strategy and outreach tactics must change in the next election, whether in 2010 or 2012. This is where Camp Courage steps in to teach regular folks the effective and proven community organizing skills that worked so well for the Obama campaign and that will, hopefully, put our campaign in the right direction to win back marriage equality. Today, I randomly ran into an Equality California employee who was working the streets and speaking to voters. She informed me that – to her knowledge – the latest polls slightly favor 2012.

Camp Courage centered on the Story of Self, which is composed of a personal challenge, choice and outcome and highlights life choices that define who we are today. The story is a catalyst for people to share their personal stories and to open the minds of the undecided and Prop 8 supporters no matter the firmness of their opposition to marriage equality, because this story builds a personal connection of family, values, and compassion.

I met and listened to many passionate and like-minded individuals who seemed to define their coming out struggles and triumphs as a choice point that resulted in life-affirming character growth and life-changing commitment to bettering their lives and LGBT community. These are the stories we need to tell to tap into the hearts of the apathetic and opponents so that they might question their staunch opinions and belief systems.

The most important takeaway that I learned from Camp Courage is that no matter how different one may appear in appearance, actions or words, the most obscure and tiniest of similarities can spark a personal connection. And this connection with that friend or foe, using our personal story of self, no matter how small or how big, helps us individually reach out to people’s hearts and maybe have them question what they thought was right.

Now that I have learned some basic organizing skills and been inspired by fellow Camp Courage participants, I think my next step is to get involved as a community volunteer through canvassing or telephone banking. I hope to be able to use my story of self and at the very least develop a personal connection with one undecided voter or opponent and guide the listener to my truth on their own.