The West Wing, mostly.

I noticed, during the season finale of The Newsroom (and a few times during the rest of the season, too) that the way it made me feel was so similar to what The West Wing used to make me feel. It's not surprising, because they're both written by Aaron Sorkin. He also wrote The American President, which is, at the very least, in my top three favorite movies. He also wrote two short-lived TV shows -- Sports Night, which was  great, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was not great. What everyone who loves (and I suppose hates) Sorkin knows is that he is a man of many, many words. His scripts are so dense and if your attention is pulled away from the screen for even 30 seconds you either miss the joke or the story or the point all together. And if you know me, you know that I am a lover of words and of wordplay and of wordiness. And most of the words in these Aaron Sorkin productions focus on two things -- politics and relationships. It should not surprise anyone that I cannot possibly get enough of this.

I've started re-watching The West Wing (I did so about a year ago, and may just make it an annual thing) because I have a lot of free time and it is the best show that has ever and will ever be on television. That's a pretty bold claim and a few years ago I may have said that LOST was the best show on television (but I would have been wrong) and some people may someday say something otherwise and I can't know if they'll be wrong. The point is that I love this show.

And I just finished watching season 2 tonight, and it is by far the best season. It's not that there's a bad season, and I'd say season 4 is pretty good too, oh and season 7 and this is getting dumb. Season 2 is the best. It's just blow after blow to the Bartlet White House, episode after episode. And everyone just keeps talking.

If you haven't seen The West Wing, I'm sorry that that's true but also sorry for the spoiler or whatever but can you just watch this? It's after Mrs. Landingham's funeral and just before President Bartlet has to make his MS announcement and the world is going to hell in a handbasket/tropical storm. What I love about it is that he's this seriously devout man of faith and here he is, in the National Cathedral, shouting at God at the top of his deeply aggrieved lungs. It's television gold and it's human gold.


Litany for Peace in a Time of War


In this time of crisis and war, let us commit ourselves to prayer and pray to the God of all creation to bring peace to our world, peace to our nation, and peace to our hearts.

Lord of the nations, the horrors of war stand before us in graphic ways that disturb our daily lives.  Fear grips us for our personal safety and the safety of those in harm’s way.  Sorrow washes over us for the seeming necessity of war and the losses that come with it.  Opinions divide us and leave us confused in the face of an uncertain future.  You alone, O God of Creation, who in the beginning brought order into chaos, light into darkness – you alone can help us in these days of crisis and war. 
We, your people, cry to you, O Lord!

Come to the aid of nations and leaders who need your guidance.  Come to the aid of those standing in harm’s way.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Come to the aid of our military and their families. Come to the aid of all who need your assuring and loving presence.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Strengthen us in faith and calm the fears within us that are many.  Help us to trust in you for our lives and our future.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Forgive us for our sin, both corporate and individual, especially for our failings as peacemakers.  Forgive us for the divisions among us.  Renew our spirits and increase our resolve to pray fervently for peace.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Protect us from any evil that surrounds us.  Lift the hearts of the sorrowful.  Bring healing to the sick and the wounded.  Comfort the dying and the bereaved with your love.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Above all, give us hope and give us peace on earth, lasting peace.
O Lord, hear our prayer.

God of peace, God of love, fill our hearts and our minds with the peace and love that only you can give.  We, your people, ardently cry to you, O Lord.  You are our answer.  You are our hope.  Come to our aid.  In Jesus’ name.
Amen

#DNC2012

Last night, I watched Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama accept our party's nomination to continue to serve this great nation.

I didn't follow along on Twitter. I didn't like any Facebook statuses. While the confetti fell, I went upstairs, popped Harry Potter in the DVD player, and called it a night.

You may think this sounds rather uncharacteristic of me.

But I did this because I was so moved by the words of President Obama (coupled with the words of Former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama the nights preceding) that I didn't even want to parse it out on the internet.

I didn't want to condense how I felt into 140 characters, or into some sort of clever Facebook-appropriate quip. I wanted to revel in the fact that the man I elected in 2008 has been the president for four years, has done and is doing a great job (despite the circumstances), and is barreling toward re-election.

Kelsey texted me a few minutes into the President's speech. "I am already crying," she wrote. "Ditto," I replied.

You may think this sounds rather characteristic of me.

We talk about President Obama as a great orator all the time. He has a way of soaring through speeches that is really unequaled. It is hard to watch the delegates cry and cheer and wave their flags and chant "FOUR MORE YEARS!" and "USA!" with the rising and falling rhythms of his words without feeling like joining in. I remember shouting, "YES WE CAN!" at my television on like 4000 occasions in 2008. The man has a way with words. Last night, he said:



America, we understand that this 
democracy is ours. 
We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as 
well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a 
freedom which asks only what's in it for me, a freedom without a 
commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty 
or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who 
died in their defense. 
As citizens, we understand that America is not about what 
can be done for us.  It's about what can be done by us, 
together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of 
self-government.  That's what we believe. 
So you see, the election four years ago wasn't about me. 
It was about you. 
My fellow citizens, you were the 
change.

Oh, did I cry, you guys. 

This is so close to those famous words from awesome fictional Democrat President Andrew Shepherd about America being advanced citizenship. And you know I love it when real life politics gets close to Aaron Sorkin writing. That's like my life dream.

What I'm saying, y'all, is that something changed this week. The Democratic National Convention is supposed to set the stage for the next 59 days. And you know what? I think it did.

I just need to take a second to tell you about how Bill Clinton is the Democratic Party, to me. I was glued to his 48 minute speech because it was the first time in this entire election cycle that I felt like I was spoken to like an adult. Like someone who could understand the numbers and the details and the complexities behind the policies and the decisions that are made on a daily basis in Washington, D.C. and in state houses across this nation. Bill Clinton spoke to the Democratic Party like we were an informed electorate. He didn't talk [much] about how those other guys are the downfall of our great nation. He told us the truth about what's been going on for four years and what's going to happen in the next four years depending on who we elect in 59 days. He was respectful and respectable. He's the definition of elder statesman. And I'm so glad he's still a leader in this nation.

And I'm so glad that he was up there explaining to the American people (25 million of them watched on television!) why it is imperative that we re-elect President Obama. 

I don't feel the same YES WE CAN that I felt in 2008. And what this week's convention really did for me was help me to understand that this isn't 2008. I don't have to feel like yelling YES WE CAN every time I see the President's face on my television. And, more importantly, I don't have to feel badly that I don't feel like yelling YES WE CAN very much at all. That's not the nature of the game, this time. 

At the risk of losing the serious tone I hope to hold, here, I'm going to throw more American President dialogue at you. "We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, [Mitt Romney] is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it." And I truly believe that's applicable, here. I believe that President Obama is the candidate in this election most interested in taking America seriously. 

 And because he takes America seriously and I take America seriously, I had to wait until today to tell you about it. I had to wait until I could pull all these words together, rather than throw together weepy tweets. 

 I think we're gonna win this, you guys.