Nathan is the big brother I never had. He teases me mercilessly, is often quite insensitive to my fragile ego, and has never given me a compliment without a caveat. He drives me insane quite a bit of the time. I have hit him more then once. But one thing I (or anyone) could never accuse him of would be being passive or ill-informed. Nathan is nothing if not a deep thinker. He's Dr. Nathan in fact, a professor at BGSU. He has lived abroad with his family and has established a global perspective because of that. He is incredibly interested in people, their point of view and how they came to it. He had a Libertarian over to dinner last night. The only thing he is closed minded to is the fact that it is possible that I am not a completely rubbish runner just because I listen to an iPod whilst running and do not run 6 min miles as he does.
Nathan also feels pretty strongly about his duty to improve his community and the world around him. He has taken on re-organizing our local soccer club, despite the fact that it rocked the boat in our community considerably. It was not always fun for him, but he believed in the cause and he believed he had a duty to see it through in order to make our community better and serve the little soccer players within it as best he could.
All this to say, Nathan does not talk the talk at the expense of walking the walk. He talks a lot. He also walks a lot (he has spent the last two full days canvassing door to door in a neighbouring community, talking to people and really, honestly seeking to understand them.) He has a lot of faith in the goodness of humanity. He regrets most right now that so many people are so afraid. He does not think elections should be decided on the basis of unfounded, irrational fear. Neither do I.
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Nathan Richardson.
“Bad poetry is always sincere.” –Oscar Wilde
How many of you in the past month have received a terribly earnest e-mail warning you of the horrors that are to come if one Barack Hussein Obama is elected president?
Me? Plenty. Always from my most well-meaning aunts and fellow congregates at the local chapel. They love me. They wish to save us all from the evils that are to come. I thank them. And I quickly read, delete, and make no reply. They mean well and there´s rarely any point in getting into it with them.
But. . . three days before the general election I have alas decided that enough is enough. To quote some amigos of mine: ¡Basta!
Basta.
Basta, because a touching testimonial from an Iraq veteran does not a war explain, nor an international political dynamic address.
Basta, because an expletive-filled warning from Lee Iacoca about the state of our country´s politics and the threat of a socialist president doesn´t form a single coherent argument. Heck, it isn´t even from Lee Iacoca.
Basta, because Obama is not a Muslim.
Basta, because Obama is not a terrorist.
Basta, because William Ayers is and has been for the last two decades an elementary school education specialist and a distinguished one at that, and the fact that he is appointed in a completely transparent manner by a democratically elected mayor to serve on an advisory board with someone who will someday run for president of the United States does not make that someone a terrorist.
Basta, because the very attempt to stretch that association into a question of who´s-hanging-out-with-whom is absolutely absurd, and probably unethical and immoral.
Basta, because even if Obama were a Muslim, who cares?
Basta, because even if I were a Mormon would I want to marry both your daughters? Or slaughter you the next time you vacationed in Mountain Meadows, Utah.
Basta, because this is America.
Basta, because who cares if his name is Hussein?
Basta, because it´s like fearing an Iraqi whose long-lost American dad happened to name him Bob.
Basta, because your flag and a country music soundtrack in the background may bring tears to my eyes and a flutter to my heart, but it DOESN´T EXPLAIN A THING ABOUT THE COMPLEX ISSUES FACING THIS NATION AND THIS WORLD.
Basta, because Obama isn´t a socialist.
Basta, because McCain himself confessed on national television that Obama is not a socialist.
Basta, because if what George W. Bush did with our country´s banking system last month isn´t as “socialist” as this country has gotten in our lifetime, I don´t know what is.
Basta, because most of us don´t even know what socialism is.
Basta, because if we did, most of us wouldn´t really mind.
Basta, because you too know someone creepy with views that are even repugnant.
Basta, because if the Clinton campaign, the McCain campaign, the RNC, and the world´s media haven´t found out yet just what Obama is hiding, it means that he´s hiding nothing.
Basta, because a vote for Obama is not a vote to slaughter the unborn.
Basta, because that issue, as with a whole host of others, is complex and politically manipulated by both sides.
Basta, because politics is what politics is and it requires compromise and deals, and money, and friends, and if that bothers you then maybe you´d be better off living in a monarchy or a dictatorship, because democracies or democratic Republics (whatever) require POLITICS.
And finally, basta, basta, y basta, because forwarding on fear-mongering e-mails does a terrible disservice to the democratic process. Indeed, dare I say that spreading such silliness as if it were somehow important is downright unpatriotic? Well, if patriotism is actually a productive attitude and activity towards the current and future well-being of one´s country (as opposed to some emotional nostalgia for flags, songs, and heroes past), then I do dare.
So, this election season, how about we base our vote in reality. How about we open our eyes, ears, mind, and heart to what the candidates actually have to say? How about we let them speak for themselves and judge accordingly? How about we judge the candidates on the content of their character and ideas, and not on the color of their skin, the strangeness of their name, or the rumors that others spread about them?
Wouldn´t that be true, honest patriotism? Wouldn´t that be a real love of country?
For the next three days, can´t we all just make a little effort to lift ourselves from the internet e-mail gutter? Can´t we?
But enough with the rhetorical questions. Basta. No more inquiries. Just commands.
So here goes: In the next three days, whatever your political preferences, let´s spread knowledge, not rumor.
Pass it on (e-mail anyone?)
–Nathan
A few of my contributions to the thankful bowl included:
for the parade:
The bat looking batty
Hail, hail, the gang's all here!
Go! Go! Go!
Harry and the Sorting Hat
and we walk off into the sunset...
And a few scenes from Trunk or Treat a few days earlier
