As a recent New Jersey transplant, I know little about the political environment in which I live. It didn’t take long, however, for me to find out that a major race for Governor was approaching, what with the ads flashing on the television about every ten minutes. As New Jerseans prepared to fill out their ballots, rumors spread about a rally on Sunday for incumbent John Corzine. Even more curious, President Obama would be making an appearance. And the most interesting part about this rally? It was set to take place right here in Camden.
Some friends and I did a little investigating and secured tickets to attend. The rally was held at the Susquehanna Bank Center, which is just along the waterfront and a short walk from the Whitman house. The section of the city surrounding Rutgers was closed down that day for another major event: the Run the Bridge challenge. 4,000 participants raised money and ran to support children with special needs who attend the Larc School. As we walked along the waterfront to reserve our spot in line on a chilly, drizzly morning, we were surrounded not only by those who were also going to the rally, but also by the runners, their families, and the event coordinators. In fact, from the spot we stood for about an hour, we had an incredible view of the last half mile of the race. Two major events were taking place in Camden and literally intersecting with one another.
As we waited in line and eventually made our way inside, we met a lot of Camden residents who were very excited about seeing both John Corzine and President Obama speak. Shortly after arriving, a band began playing and people in the crowd were energized. The place was packed and people were ready to meet their politicians.
I spent most of the two hours of waiting for the speakers to arrive reading my literary theory chapters for the week. And, as I’m always trying to connect the theory back to Whitman’s work, I couldn’t help but consider how much of Whitman’s spirit must have been in and around the rally. The many people who surrounded us represented all classes, ages, genders, ethnicities. It was like looking at a visual of one of Whitman’s catalogs of city dwellers. Not only that, but the very feeling of people being so immersed in and passionate about the political system and what they firmly believe can be done to make their community better, felt rather Whitmanesque. It was amazing to see the people of Camden County unified, together as a front, trying to make something happen. Unity isn’t exactly something that I feel walking up and down the streets of Camden everyday.
When President Obama came out on stage, the crowd exploded into roaring cheers and shouts. I had never attended a political rally, never mind one in which the President is in attendance, but it felt like a pretty surreal experience. Obama was speaking not just about John Corzine and the state of NJ, but about the particular plight of cities like Camden. His solution, like Whitman’s, was that citizens need to come together. Of course, in this case, coming together meant voting for John Corzine and endorsing the Democratic nominee.
Although Corzine did not win yesterday’s election, I still believe that both he and President Obama provided all those in attendance at Sunday’s rally with a really strong message. They weren’t simply there to get people to vote, but they were there to get people to make change. The sentiments of unity and cohesiveness ring so true back in Whitman’s poetry, that I couldn’t help but think Whitman would be happy to see such great messages and positive community-building happening right here in Camden.