Dearest Rachel –
It was one of the first albums I picked up once I got my bearings at university, and discovered the local Christian bookstore, with its racks of older music that straddled the line between secular and sacred; it was my introduction to Bruce Cockburn, a Canadian singer-songwriter who I was never any more sure about than you were about your parents. But as an opening number, the man could certainly turn a phrase.
I found myself thinking about this first verse as the days have been growing closer to this week; if there was ever a time to be “looking ill at ease,” this moment in history has got to be it. For all that I try not to make references to politics and history as it happens, this is somewhat unavoidable, as the events at the United Center barely twenty miles away from here as the crow flies – and yet which might as well be happening on the moon, for all that the events themselves might directly affect us – loom over the local news.
The very idea of a political convention in this city hearkens back to the last time this happened here. My parents would tell me about their concerns as they watched the events unfold on their television set when I was an infant, fearful that the chaos that was breaking out down there might ultimately spill all the way out into the suburbs that they already had moved to a few years into their marriage. Of course, they needn’t have worried – even to the point where the results of the convention ultimately meant nothing once the ballots were counted – but they couldn’t have known that as it was unfolding in real time in front of them.
The thing is, this is a moment in history that’s been a surprisingly long time in coming, considering how large and centralized our city is. It’s the ideal place for such assemblies, geographically speaking, and yet it’s been avoided like the plague for so long. We can’t be that much worse than other venues, can we? I find myself compelled to see it for myself – especially when I consider that it might be another fifty-plus years before it happens again here (although, I’m also told by the folks meeting here that if they lose this year, there will be no future elections, since the other guys is a veritable dictator, making it all that much more imperative to see what will never happen again).
However, I keep getting told that doing this – even the mere act of going down to see what’s going on – would be exceedingly dangerous. Some of it is the bias suburban folk have toward the city to begin with; it’s a dangerous place, they say, even in broad daylight, where you’ll be gunned down for your Air Jordans (which, thankfully, I don’t own). Then, there’s the fact of what this event is; a gathering place of people whose ideological bent is not only diametrically opposite mine, but who are supposedly outright hostile to those who have such differing opinions. For both reasons, I’m told that the mere act of going there would be taking my life into my hands, as if I were to enter the dragon’s mouth of my own volition. And yet, I can’t help wondering what it would be like to be the glittering joker who would do that.
And to a certain extent, I don’t understand why I should be afraid of these people – even the ones raising their objections to this whole event. Aren’t they the ones who all have those “Coexist” bumper stickers on their cars? Surely they could abide my presence there, since that’s supposedly their credo. Aren’t these the folks whose protests are “fiery but mostly peaceful,” and who are all about “joy” during this election cycle? Why should I be fearful of such people? Besides, I have so many questions for them, and I suspect any answers I might crave won’t be coming to me if I were to rely on secondhand sources.
Consider, just for a start, the mundane logistical issues. How do the folks protesting the convention get down there? They aren’t all local – in fact, I think the locals would rather it all go away – so they must get transportation to get there. Who’s handling that? How about parking issues? And their signs look professionally done, rather than handmade; who’s paying for that? I have my suspicions, but I’d like them confirmed.
Moreover, that begs the question of motivation. Who would pay for such a large crowd to come out and complain about this or that candidate? That’s a lot of money to pour down a rat hole, if you ask me. And I suspect that the foot soldiers who are doing the protesting have more than money as an incentive; they actually believe in what they’re doing. I’d like to know what that is and why as well. As much as I don’t consider the candidate to be a towering intellectual presence, she’s right that these antics play into the hands of her opponent, who seems an infinite remove further from the type of candidate these protestors would want in office; why work to effectively elect the other guy? Then again, I’ve been told he is and will be “literally Hitler”; considering their attitude toward Jews, maybe they actually want that.
Which leads into the next series of questions; what do they want? Protests and destruction are easy, but what do they want built once everything is razed to the ground? And how do they expect to go about doing it, especially if the general population isn’t keen on what they want? How do they plan on getting John Q. Public in their corner, when he’s already that much more disgusted with them and their belief system due to their antics?
And finally, aren’t they already in charge? They currently have the executive branch and half the legislature. What claim can these folks credibly make about the agents of “change” and “moving forward”?
To be sure, I suspect I know the sort of response I’m likely to get to most of these questions. I hate to break it to them, but “shut up” is not an explanation. Still, I’d like to get it directly from their mouths rather than secondhand through a source whose reliability might be suspect. And since it’s as nearby as it is – and I doubt I’ll get another chance to see one of these up close and personal like this – I kind of feel like I’d regret it if I didn’t take the opportunity to do this.
Regardless of whether I can manage this or not, honey, I ’d appreciate your keeping an eye on me, and wishing me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 