Every time I watch an old episode of the West Wing, I kick myself for not having watched it when it was first on, and then I applaud Bravo for airing the shows now and giving us losers a second chance to see it for the first time.
Aaron Sorkin uses current-events shadowing to tremendous effect and with abundant celerity in the show.
In the case of the episode that aired tonight, “Take Out the Trash Day”, imagine a Matthew Shepard like plotline. CJ, the Press Secretary, is asked to “screen” the dead boy's parents to see if they are camera-worthy in their support of the President. She is asked this because the boy's father seemed reticent to talk about things, and the liberal mindsets of the West Wing employees leap to conclude he was embarrassed that his son was gay, even to the extent of not supporting hate-crimes legislation.
Cut to the scene where CJ must ask a rather blunt question:
CJ: If you appear in front of the press to be at all...embarrassed...by your son's homosexuality...I guess, let me just ask, do you support the president?
Mother: Yes. We do.
Father: No. No we do not. No. That was really the last—no! We do not. The hate crimes bill, who gives a damn. It's fine. I don't care. If you ask me, we shouldn't be making laws against what's in a person's head, but I don't give a damn. It's fine. I don't understand how this president, who I voted for...I don't understand how he can take such a complete weak-ass position on gay rights.
Mother: Shhhh.
Father: Gays in the military. Same-sex Marriage. Gay adoption. Boards of Education. Where the hell is he? I want to know what quality necessary to being a parent my son lacked. I want to know from this president, who has served not one day in uniform—I had two tours in Vietnam—I want to know what quality necessary to being a soldier this president feels my son lacked.
<pause>
Father: Lady, I'm not embarrassed that my son was gay. My Government is.
WOW. I had to pause the TiVo. I paced around the house trying to wrap my head around exactly why, suddenly, my self-image no longer fit in my big round charlie-brown head the way it usually does. I teared up a bit, the natural result of the shiver/shudder that climbed up my spine.
I frankly disagree with the father's sentiment about hate-crimes, because we grade murder and several other violent crimes according to intent, and rightly so.
But it was the idea that I had not gone far enough to my own way of thinking about our place in the world, as gay folks. All the while we seem to be reaching for that brass ring, feeling like the underdog and using our common misery to propel our actions further.
Out and Proud? When was the last time I felt proud of who I am, and in a way that others could see, could learn from? It's been a while, for sure.
And then here's a voice coming from a straight parent, who insists that his own government do the work in getting over its collective embarrassment over such matters.
This is a character who is out and proud of who he is and makes no apologies. Further, he insists that the government stop making apologies on its own inaction.
My self-image didn't fit in my head because Aaron Sorkin rooted out some little bit of self-loathing that still existed in my head. That bit is gone now. The pacing, the unease, the shivers and shudders, that was embarrassment leaving my body.
This episode carried, as another plotline, the allocation of 100,000 teachers, but with an amendment that would prevent anyone in public schools to talk about anything but abstinence for disease- and pregnancy-prevention. The Republicans got the whole thing shelved for a year. CJ, in her disappointment and her discomfort at playing such political games, says to the president: “We can all be better teachers.”
To which I say, Mr Sorkin is already a fine, fine teacher. He arranges politics and plotlines like Bach arranged notes, thematic, mathematic, poetic, with contrapuntos, inversions, variations. He's truly a wonder.
As for the topic at hand, I'm tired of hearing the same old crap about how we gay folks “deserve” the same rights as others. I'm tired of hearing the screeding about our down-at-heel, underdog status. Not because it's not all true, but because it is all true. It's a given, folks! A sad, unfortunate GIVEN, a Gödelian cage. So move the fuck on, already.
Pride, joy, ebullience...these qualities are true for a lot of us too...it's positivity that should propel us forward.
As far as I'm concerned, we shouldn't keep stretching and working so hard to reach that brass ring. We are the brass ring.
Let the rest of them start reaching for us.
So, we went hiking at Madera Canyon here in Tucson a couple of days ago. We didn't have any destination in mind, grabbing the first trail we saw.
No, I'm asking. For real. What did I do? Because I don't really remember all the details to share. No, I wasn't “altered”. There are just some things that are so...involving....that there's not enough of you left over to remember that something pretty fuckin' amazing is going on. Nuff said.
Sam and Jeff..and Jeff's boxers.
Good Times.
Reggie and Sam
Daaaaamn.