My grandfather was a conservative with reservations. He admired Reagan, but I’m positive he would not have liked him. What could Reagan have understood about an ethnic frenchman, raised without English, or Hollywood, or Protestantism? Sure, they could of talked about ‘Republican Values’, but could the former president really have understood life from the perspective of someone so radically different from himself? I doubt Reagan would have even been interested in trying.
So, with a bit of sadness, I watched the VP debate tonight wondering what Papa would have thought about Sarah Palin. I think he would have disapproved. It’s not just because he would not have wanted a woman in the white house, or because he would have been suspicious of her Yankee (Alaskan!) ties, or because she has no intellectual credentials. It would have been because she, quite literally, comes from a completely different and disconnected world than the one he grew old in.
One of the many problems with American politics is trying to define what and who America is. Watching Palin talk about hockey moms and Biden talk about the middle class steel worker provoked a kind of lingering sadness – the man who understood me, who really knew me – is gone.
I’ve read this post many times before refreshing the page to find something new. My grandfather passed away last Sunday, and now this post has a whole new meaning to me. My grandfather was a savvy man who stood up for his beliefs, and I’m sad I never spoke to him about this election. While visiting him last year, it never came up. But now as I watch everything unfold, I wonder what he would think about the current cast.
I appreciate your writing, Jon, because it resonates without being presumptuous or pretentious. You have always been able to touch me–a stranger–with your writing, and sometimes you do it in ways that don’t appear until later. Thank you.
Whitney,
I’m really sorry to hear about your grandfather. There really is nothing more difficult than the death of a close family member.
I really do appreciate your all-too-kind words about my writing here. It’s really affirming to know that some of what I’ve written here has been meaningful to someone. One of my greatest fears as a writer is coming across as someone who is one of those big “P” words you mentioned above.
It always helps to have some perspective, and you’ve been one of the most insightful commenters on this site – Thank you.