Franklyn Strachan and I found out earlier today that the winner of Organizing for America’s Health Care Reform Video Challenge is “I Deserve Health Care” by Eric Hurt. The announcement of the winner will be made sometime today; you can view it here: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08viddonatends?source=20091117_DP_ytwinner_nd.
I want to thank all of you who took such interest in this project; I think some of you were even more obsessed with this than I was. As always, the support I get from my posse continues to astound me.
I also want you to know that winning video or not, I am just so proud of this piece. The process has taught me so much – that Franklyn is talented as hell for one thing, that I do have something to say, that I’m getting okay, kind of, sort of at handling the barbed comments from people whose opinions <ahem> differ from mine, and that I am not stopping.
Franklyn and I remain committed to the documentary we are producing (well he’s producing, I’m just being me) and we are making the final revisions to our grant proposal before sending it out to potential funding organizations. It’s going to be great, of that I have no doubt.
Keep sending out the link to the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWKici6hOhw we are at a bit over 195,000 views, and Franklyn and I want that video to get over 200K. Silly perhaps, but humor us. I still find that stunning – close to 200K people have seen our video – 200K people who, after seeing “Angela’s Story” might feel not quite as alone as they did, or might look over the dinner table at a loved one who is dealing with a chronic illness and think, have I told this person I love how damn proud of them for having the courage to show up every day?, or who might stop themselves before passing judgment on someone and instead feel maybe at least a little twinge of compassion.
200K people who might think – life is short, we are all suffering in some way or other, but isn’t it all, pain, joy, all of it, just so damn beautiful?
