Update from the RNC

It's been an interesting week in downtown St. Paul. All of the press and police presence has been exciting and sobering. Solveigh found herself on the national stage twice in one day, first on MSNBC's Morning Joe which was being broadcast from Keys Cafe in our building, and second when they cut to commercial break on MSNBC's Road to the White House which was being broadcast in Rice Park. But aside from the excitement and action of having all eyes on St. Paul, I have been reminded of the great privilege and responsibility of being given the opportunity to be involved in the political process. These streets have been a forum of ideas for the past 4 days. Some of the voices have been more militant or fanatical than others, but for the most part, people from all walks of life have engaged in a civil dialogue about how we are to best govern our nation. When people would see me out with Solveigh and ask about her, I would tell them that we are having our first civics lesson together. Granted, she's only 4 months old and will never remember Norah O'Donnell or David Gregory smiling and waving at her from their news desk, but she did get to see the reality of democracy at work. We saw everything from freedom of speech and freedom to assemble to opportunistic commercialism, sound bite media coverage, purposeful and peaceful protest as well as pointless and violent protest. It's all part of the grand experiment of self-governance.

Now, given the great freedom and responsibility we have to contribute to this marketplace of ideas, I would be remiss if I were not to share a few thoughts on what I have heard from the stage of the RNC. While I admire the character and service of both John McCain and his runningmate Sarah Palin, I struggle with their vision of our future. It seems to me to be a vision that is rooted in fear and bent on American hegemony. It speaks of prosperity with such an individualistic tone that one would be tempted to believe that all is fair and equal in our great society... an idea that is easily spoken by highly educated and incredibly good-looking people. I think the remark that fired me up more than anything was when Sarah Palin said, "being a mayor is kind of like being a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibility." Where have we forgotten that a government by the people, of the people and for the people is actually supposed to value people?! Unfortunately, Mrs. Palin doesn't think that working and serving among real people who have lost their jobs, suffered in poverty and under the weight of oppression is all that valuable. Apparently, according to many Republicans (judging by the laughter and roar of the crowds), community organizing (which is at the foundation of a working democracy), doesn't qualify as having real responsibility. Well, I guess that makes sense when you have an ideology that is steeped in rugged individualism, when power used not to empower the people, but for the purpose of domination, and when prosperity is a higher value than justice. Maybe I just don't get it, but I think I just disagree, and thank God we have the freedom to do so.

Solveigh goes to the farm

Well, here we are at the farm in Kulm, ND. Solveigh seems to fit right in. Maybe this St. Paul kid will have a hankerin' for the rural life. I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa Gackle would be thrilled!

pastry time

So it wasn't until I was checking in the new order of pastries that I realized the significance of this day (well, now it's after midnight, but nonetheless...). In order to assure freshness, we have to put a date sticker on all of the pastries that come in each night, but tonight we were out of Saturday stickers, so I used the Friday stickers and just crossed out the Friday and wrote Saturday even though it screws up the color coding... Regardless, I wrote down the date on a sticker and shazam, it suddenly hit me that today is Solveigh's one month birthday! She's actually grown quite a bit. Jenni brought her to the doctor today for her checkup and she's gained almost 2 pounds and grown 2 inches. It's interesting how much we celebrate the things we can measure... 2 inches, 2 pounds, one month. At first, I felt a bit like a schmuck of a dad, not having realized that it was the 29th until it was already too late to celebrate. It's a good thing Solveigh has no conception of time whatsoever. I on the other hand have the pastries.

on simplicity

It happened again today. I was asked by a person who seems to have lots going on what it is that I did for a living. "I make the coffee," I replied. This is what I tell my daughter (three weeks old) when I have to leave her and my wife... "Daddy has to go make the coffee so that the people will be happy," I say. I sometimes feel awkward telling people, particularly people who are strangers and whom I imagine might think that a 33 year old new dad should be doing something more significant with his life than making the coffee. But that's where I realized the beauty of it all again. You see, for so long it has been all about what I could do, but lately, I don't seem much to care about what I can do. I want to go with my wife to Target for infant gas drops so that our kid doesn't have to struggle so hard with the incessant "tooties" that make her grimace and grunt in agony. I want to come home, not to worry about what is or isn't going on at work, but to be home. Yep, I make the coffee so that the people will be happy and leave me the hell alone once I hand the keys over to the next barista who will replace me on the next shift. It's a pretty good gig really... doesn't pay all that much, but tomorrow, I have the whole day off to be with Jenni and the little sweet pea, and I won't think a moment about my job. Rather, I'll rest assured that someone else is making the coffee, and if not, they can all make their own.