Go Free Yourself

In the group I run with, Obama isn’t exactly getting glowing endorsements. There are the oh-so-witty quips—”Now that’s a change we can believe in,” referring to anything (and therefore nothing of substance)—and the disparaging comments and the snorts of disapproval. Fundamentalist libertarians and conservatives seem to have trouble understanding why one might consider a “tax-and-spend Democrat”…as if that’s any better than a spend-and-spend-and-spend Republican.

Anyway, I read an interesting post today by Andrew Sullivan, narrating why he (a conservative) wants Obama to win. Here’s an excerpt:

I haven’t sat through a single Obama speech without ideologically wincing at something. I fear that in the general election, his recourse to liberal tropes will begin to wear thin.

So why do I find myself still longing for him to win?

Because, I can’t see how domestic policy could become more statist and less responsible than the past eight years. Because I want to see such a record punished with electoral defeat for fear they still don’t know what they did wrong. Because I think Obama’s diplomatic skills and public relations brilliance could serve this country very well. And because of what Obama represents in our collective consciousness.

His candidacy is about renewing what America means to the world and to itself. It is about a collective cultural healing—especially on race. It is about representing the next generation and America’s less domineering but more inspiring place among nations. It is about transparency in government. It is about getting past this brutal cultural polarization for a while. It is about putting reason back into our discourse after the emotional manipulation of the Morris-Rove era. It is about ending torture, restoring Constitutional balance, and adding the power of words, of great words, to restore hope again.

Read Sullivan’s whole piece here. And, as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Dear Readers (are there any of you left?), I apologize for my scarce postings of late. Things at work got crazy, yadda-yadda-yadda, you know the drill. Anyway, I’m back now and hope you’ll join me for more fun, political discussion, and—of course—a large helping of YouTube clips (including ones from The Office).

Now, moving on. The Tribune ran a great piece yesterday about two “typo personalities” who, “armed with Sharpies, erasers, and righteous indignation…make it their crusade to rid the world of bad signs.”

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson have not wasted their lives.

They fight a losing battle, an unyielding tide of misplaced apostrophes and poor spelling. But still, they fight. Why, you ask. Because, they say. Because, they must.

For the last three months, they have circled the nation in search of awkward grammar construction. They have ferreted out bad subject-verb agreements, and they have faced stone-faced opposition everywhere. They have shone a light on typos in public places, and they have traveled by a GPS-guided ‘97 Nissan Sentra, sleeping on the couches of college friends and sticking around just long enough to do right by the English language. Then it’s on the road again, off to a new town with new typos.

I particularly enjoyed this piece because of my own hatred for improper use of the English language—I am, after all, part of the best Facebook group of all time: “I judge you when you use poor grammar.” (Join us!)

Anyway, it’s a fun read. Check it out here, and visit the Typo Eradication Advancement League’s website to read more about their typo-correcting cross-country tour.

And seriously, watch the grammar and punctuation. It’s not hard.

One of my colleagues at SAA circulated an interesting article today about “The Ron Paul Evolution.” Written by David McCarthy, Paul’s chief blogger for the Daily Dose, the piece appears in the American Conservative and states that while “the campaign dies down, the movement is just beginning.”

“Ron Paul owns the future,” influential evangelical Doug Wead concluded in an early April post on his personal blog. Wead makes an unlikely Paul enthusiast: his religious background might seem a better fit for Mike Huckabee. And his personal history—as an adviser to both Presidents Bush—might have inclined him toward the triumphant establishment candidate, John McCain. But in Ron Paul and the movement that championed him, Wead saw something remarkable: “His is a campaign of ideas. … His army was left unchallenged on the battlefield. Now their ideas have taken root and they will grow.”

Read the whole thing here.

And if you haven’t already heard about it, check out the plans for the Revolution March on D.C. July 12.

Who wants to go?!

I graduated from public school, so I’m generally not a loud voice in the “public schools are entirely worthless” chants. I had some really great teachers, and I had some really lousy ones. I’m all for school choice, and I’m not exactly a spokesperson for government monopolies on anything. But I also get really tired of the self-righteousness from some sects of homeschoolers or private schoolers. In short, there isn’t one magical solution—families should have the freedom to decide for themselves how their kids are educated.

Anyway, whatever education route a family decides to take, it would probably be wise to make sure the kids are actually learning the truth about history, as opposed to some of the fables that have made their way into textbooks just to spice things up.

Check out Cracked.com’s “5 Most Ridiculous Lies You Were Taught In History Class” here. It’s a fun read—enjoy!

I know this isn’t new, but for anyone who hasn’t yet read Stephen Colbert’s book—“I Am America. (And So Can You!)”—you really must. It. Is. Awesome.

Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

I am no fan of books. And chances are, if you’re reading this, you and I share a healthy skepticism about the printed word. Well, I want you to know that this is the first book I’ve ever written, and I hope it’s the first book you’ve ever read. Don’t make a habit of it.

Now, you might ask yourself, if by yourself you mean me, “Stephen, if you don’t like books, why did you write one?” You just asked yourself a trick question. I didn’t write it. I dictated it. i shouted it into a tape recorder over the Columbus Day weekend, then handed it to my agent and said, “Sell this.” He’s the one who turned it into a book. It’s his funeral.

…

Just because I haven’t put a lot of thought into this book doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. I want you to read this book carefully. Savor my ideas. Memorize pertinent passages. Eat with it, sleep with it, let nature take its course.

Because what I have dictated is nothing less than a Constitution for the Colbert Nation. And, like our Founding Fathers, I hold my Truths to be self-evident, which is why I did absolutely no research.

Mr. Colbert might hunt me down for sharing this excerpt with you because, as he also says in his intro, he is not even offering this book to libraries. “No free rides.” So, keep me from getting hunted down and go get the book. You won’t regret it. I promise.

Have a good weekend!

Last week, I posted a link to renowned playwright David Mamet’s op-ed about his journey away from the Left. Today, I read a piece in the LA Times by Andrew Klavan welcoming Mamet to the Right.

Klavan writes:

David Mamet’s public coming-out as a political conservative—done in a 2,500-word essay in the Village Voice last week—is wonderful news for the culture, far better, I fear, than many conservatives will appreciate. The left has monopolized the arts for so long that some on the right have lost the knack of them. We love to denounce Hollywood and indulge in paroxysms of rage about the latest artistic insults to patriotism and God. But when it comes actually to producing mature and complex works of art—or supporting the people who produce them—a good conservative can be very hard to find.

An excellent point. As a writer myself, one with aspirations to pursue an MFA and a published novel, I have concerns about entering the creative world as someone uninterested in being a liberal propagandist.

But, as Klavan notes, Mamet’s conversion is good for both him and the Right. “The big question,” he writes, “is whether the good men and women of the right will realize what a gift they have been given in Mamet.”

Time will tell, I suppose. I, like Klavan, hope the Right will celebrate the fact that “our side” has gained a brilliant artist. (In the meantime, check out Klavan’s piece here.)

There’s a story that has been floating around the office today (and perhaps, by now, the Blogivists community): well-known playwright David Mamet has published an opinion piece entitled “Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal.’”

Everyone’s pretty excited about it. We always love when people join our team.

It’s a good piece—check it out here.