I've gone from cynical to hopeful in less than a week. All it took was a local fair. But I'll get to that later. For now, some thoughts about our national (way)pasttimes, known as the party circuses. I mean, the conventions.
First, some truth in political background. I'm a registered independent but lean Democrat. In fact, I've never voted for a R president. Not a party thing. In fact, I'd do so today if the party's social fulcrum wasn't in Khomeiniville. I actually hope Olympia Snowe, R from Maine, in particular, runs for prez. She's the coolest politician I can think of. Unfortunately for me, she'd have as much chance of a R nomination as Derek Jeter has of being elected mayor of Boston.
I HAVE voted for Republicans on state and local levels. So as I say, it's not a party thing.
I try to stay open, so I saw both conventions. I even reported on it to my brother and uncle (who are both on my left) and my friend Greg, who's to my right.
Rather than bore anyone with a line by line description, I'll sum up with a few thoughts:
1: Both parties lie. A lot. Someone (Twain?) said "There are lies and there are damned lies." Most of the lies fell into the 1st category. Then again, I've become somewhat desensitized to reacting strongly to the lying. Too many years, I guess.
2: If I was medaling the speeches, the gold would go to Michelle Obama, who gave perhaps the most conversational speech I've ever heard. I noticed that she was the complete opposite of her husband in terms of oratorial style. Rather than the thunder of her husband, her style was more like a gentle, soothing rain after a drought. She spoke haltingly at times, which may be counterintuitive for those who study public speaking. But I thought it made the speech sound someone sitting opposite to me at the kitchen table.
Silver, and perhaps I'm the only one who feels this way, goes to Biden. This, to me, was a blue collar guy speaking passionately about what matters to him. I've always been a Biden fan. I had a co-worker, Tom, from Delaware, telling me why he didn't like Biden. The short version is that they were both on an Amtrak and Tom introduced himself to Biden. Biden was rude and essentially ignored him. He went on to say that a minute later, Biden came back and apologized to him for being rude. Somehow...Tom's takeaway was that Biden was arrogant. Unless there's more to the story, I don't understand why he felt that way. To me, that someone would recognize his behavior and try to make it right spoke volumes to me about Biden as a person.
Bronze goes to Condi Rice. Showing again that we don't have to agree with a speech to appreciate it. Like Biden, Rice spoke just as passionately as Biden and Michelle Obama, yet in a style that somehow managed to be professorial and also warm. I've often wondered in my heart how people of color could be conservative. I understand intellectually how that could be. But it wasn't until I heard Rice, that someone who witnessed discrimination and racial violence first hand could be a part of the inner circle of a conservative president. I see how she felt patronized by Democrats and prefer what she sees as the support of self-reliance by Republicans. Her methods aren't those I share, but my respect for a conservative vision, in its broadest sense, grew exponentially. Her vision wasn't one of turning back the clock. It was, in fact, a quintessentially American vision of justice and equality.
3: Clinton's speech: Yeah, he hit all the right chords. He was in his element. He may, in fact, be the difference maker if Obama wins. All that said, all I remember is the number 47. That's the length of his speech. 47 hours. Oops, I mean minutes.
4: Music: Face it...a bunch of old white guys restoring their scuffling days with classic rock, played by a pretty lame house band just didn't cut it. And don't tell me the RNC was diverse. It wasn't. It was as white as a corpse. Dems were smarter here. Lose the idea of a house band and go straight to the originals. And closing with Brooks and Dunn's Born in America, something that would be presumably more at home at the RNC, was a brilliant choice. Not that anyone noticed it.
All in all, I felt in turns energized, depressed, angered, pensive, open to the RNC but in secret hoping the DNC would kick their asses. In truth, these things have I suspect zero influence on the election.
But this blog isn't about politics. It's about how my hope got restored on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
My friend Donna invited me to the local North Haven fair, mostly to hear this cover band that she liked called Flashback. An apt name, not just for the music, but mainly for how I felt.
Imagine seeing kids petting animals, barkers trying to take your money for a game that you have zero chance of winning, the mixed odors of burgers and the aforementioned animals, with a subtle scent of autumn. A display of (as my family might say), "tchochkes" (crap clothing). Some of it sounds good. Some of it not so much. But there's one universal thing you notice at these fairs. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is smiling. America's in trouble? That's what the polls say. That's the vibe I get during the week. Do you feel like we're in trouble? Check out your local fair. If you're lucky enough to live in an area where fall weather is starting to kick in, that'll double your encouragement. I suspect intellectually that other countries have similar festivals. But I wonder if the heart is the same.
Songs and books have been written about trying to find America. Kerouac, Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Steinbeck. All have their approaches. But I submit that the heart of America is at your local fair. It's the antidote to this election season.
Flashback indeed.
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