121st post. I love squares.
Couple of housekeeping things.
1) Come see After Ashley. I'm in it, and I may have mentioned this before, but this cast is one of the most talented as a whole that I've ever worked with. It's a joy to work with these people, and I think it shows on stage. It Runs Feb 8 - 23 at the Bedlam (link above). Let me know if you're coming. There is a short talkback after each show, so if you want to stay for that, we can get all intellectual about art. Neat, huh?
2) My friend Hall is getting married. August 30, I think. I wish him and his fiancee Cathy all the best. I'm really happy for them.
Alright, moving on now. Fair warning: I'm going to hide layered meaning in my following passage, which is seemingly about politics. It is, and it isn't. That's all.
There's a video circulating about the interwebs of a music video made from Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech. It's pretty moving; if you haven't seen it it yet, I recommend it. There's a passage in particular that I think holds true for us as a country.
We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of ... voices calling for change.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.
It has been suggested in recent times that those who seek to further the mission, and therefore the cause, of Sen. Obama are doing so because it is "in fashion" or "popular." That is not the case. There comes a time in every person's life when they look back on the mistakes they've made, the life they thought they wanted, and seek change. They bear their arms and show the scars they've earned and they beg those who will listen not to have earned these scars in an effortless pursuit of a dream deferred. Yes, we've made mistakes. We've done things we shouldn't have, and we've borne losses that were too painful to mention. But every day that passes that an attempt isn't made to rectify that, to show the lengths we're willing to go to in order to make things better the second time around, is a wasted day.
Yes. We. Can. Sen Obama speaks of a fractured nation. A divided nation, roiled in the two-party system so heavily, so desperately, that it begins to look like two different countries pressed together. It's not so. It is our differences that make us who we are as one. We feed off of them, breathe easier because of them, knowing we are not all the same person. Our individuality is the very cause of our great union.
To those who would say that the differences are too much, too great, and cannot be overcome, I say Yes We Can. To those who would say that we've gone too far to come back, broken too many bridges and opened too many wounds and cannot heal, I say Yes We Can. To those who would say that this union, this country cannot stand together and say that no matter what happens we are One, I say Yes We Can.
We're not perfect. We're not even close. But we are mighty. And we are compassionate. And we are willing to show that to anyone willing to listen. We are Ready. Don't give up on us.
END TRANSMISSION...
