It all began with President Bush's resignation ...

My Dad and I had an email exchange on Friday and I ended up forwarding it to a few friends. As these things do sometimes, it got forwarded to others and I ended up getting an unexpectedly high number of emails about it. After watching Colin Powell endorse Senator Obama for President this morning, and listening to his concerns about Senator McCain's campaign in particular and the Republican Party in general, I decided to organize the email messages in the correct sequence for a blog post.

There are a few things I learned from this experience, and I will mention them upfront. First, my Dad loves me and respects me -- of course I knew that already, but our email exchange certainly validated it. Second, my Dad's a better writer than I knew -- I think this exchange ranks as the longest written communication between the two of us ever. Finally, the "something special" about Senator Obama's campaign that I've heard has been happening all over the country has now happened in my family. More interestingly though, based on the email feedback I received, it's happening in lots and lots of the families of people I know, and I hope some of you will post your messages as comments.

The story: my Dad is retired Firefighter and a lifelong Republican. I have voted Republican a number of times as an adult and I identify with many conservative principles, though I do not identify at all with socially conservative positions. Dad has grown more vocal about his political beliefs in recent years and it's led to some mildly comical moments with my New York liberal in-laws (try mentioning Hillary Clinton and see what happens). A late-blooming emailer in retirement, Dad has also started forwarding all sorts of stuff to everyone, from Fire House Humor to Governor Palin as Motorcycle Mama.

On Friday he forwarded me an email with the title: Bush's Resignation Speech.

Actually, it was something more like:

FWD: Fw: Re: FWD: Fw: Re: BUSH'S RESIGNATION SPEECH!!!!!!!

(and I had to weed through the 30,000 email headers of people who had already read and resent the email but, like I said, my Dad is a late-bloomer ... email etiquette link for you, Dad)

Anyway, the email made me uncomfortable and for reasons I still cannot explain, I spent some time writing a response to him.

First the email from Dad, unedited:

The following 'speech' was written recently by an ordinary Maine-iac [a resident of the People's Republic of Maine]. While satirical in nature, all satire must have a basis in fact to be effective.

This is an excellent piece by a person who does not write for a living.

The speech George W. Bush might give:

Normally, I start these things out by saying 'My Fellow Americans.' Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore.

I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.

I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit, effectively immediately. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you:

There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office. The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people.

I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.

Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media.

Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security. Ask them why we don't have more nuclear power plants, oil refineries, and off-shore drilling.

We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this 'blood for oil' thing. If I were trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell.

And don't give me this 'Bush Lied...People Died' crap either. If I were the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty.

Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office.

Some guy named ' Clinton ' established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

Now some of you morons want to be led by a junior senator with no understanding of foreign policy or economics, and this nitwit says we should attack Pakistan, a nuclear ally. And then he wants to go to Iran and make peace with a terrorist who says he's going to destroy us. While he's doing that, he wants to give Iraq to al Qaeda, Afghanistan to the Taliban, Israel to the Palestinians, and your money to the IRS so the government can give welfare to illegal aliens, who he will make into citizens, so they can vote to re-elect him. He also thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and we should stop our foreign aid to Israel.

Did you sleep through high school?

You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to out spend and out-tech them.

That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die.

That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can.
But they are. They want to kill you, and the bastards are all over the globe.

You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement, and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that.

When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor.'
Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy.

Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.

In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter.
Most of you would rather watch American Idol or Dancing with Stars.

I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're not smart enough to leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching.
I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from.

But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.

So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient for years. No one ever heard of Crawford, TX before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here, pretty much no one will ever hear of it again.

Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.

Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Nancy Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it.

Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.

So that's it. God bless what's left of America.

Some of you know what I mean. The rest of you, kiss off.

PS - You might want to start learning Farsi, and buy a Koran.

And, without further comment, my response:

Dad,

The satirical email you forwarded to me is mildly funny, but it's really just propaganda (and not very good propaganda at that). I don't mind at all that you sent it to me -- I like funny. And it's important to be open-minded about the candidates as this is likely one of the most important elections of my lifetime. As you know, I believe in a number of traditionally conservative ideologies: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and I was actually optimistic that the Republican party would nominate a viable candidate. Today though, I am completely, totally, and whole-heartedly convinced that John McCain is a bad choice for the U.S. and Barack Obama is a good one. So even though the email you sent was mostly about President Bush, I found myself concerned that this sort of confused rhetoric prevents good dialogue and I felt compelled to write a considered response. I know you didn't write it and I recognize that the piece is satirical, so I will resist the temptation to highlight the fallacies of the original author's comments on energy policy, federal emergency management, or media bias. However, there are a few areas of note:

(1) I believe, as many others do (link), that there were probably laws broken and impeachable offenses committed. While I suppose it is theoretically possible that history will vindicate some of the the last eight years' strategy decisions, the near term costs are unacceptable by many measures: a majority of the world's population views the American global influence as negative (link) and any recent uptick in sentiment has almost certainly been wiped out by the last few weeks of economic turmoil. This negative view spans issues as diverse as the economy, North Korean disarmament, Hezbollah, torture, human rights, environmental responsibility, Iran, Iraq, and energy policy. It affects our safety and our wallets. The Iraq war alone has lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the Civil War. More than 4,000 Americans have died. More than 60,000 have been injured and wounded. The United States may spend more than $2 trillion on this war and its aftermath (link), yet we are less safe around the globe and more divided at home. Finally, there have been on the order of 1 million violent deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan (link). While no rush to judgment should be made about cause, it's important to note that the world may not rest until a "Nuremberg" occurs.

(2) As the father of four precious children; as a professional who held an office at 7926 One World Trade Center; and as the son of parents who spent their careers serving men and women in uniforms of many types, I thank our intelligence, military, law enforcement, and homeland security people. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

(3) With regard to the referenced "Junior Senator," Barack Obama's positions have been dramatically and irresponsibly distorted. In order of their appearance within the forwarded email:

FACT: Senator Obama has never said he would "attack Pakistan"--he has said that he would attack "high-level terrorist targets" (link).

FACT: Senator Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions, using increased economic pressure and isolation (link). This position is shared by the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Senator Bob Lugar from Indiana (link).

FACT: Senator Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. In 2002, he said the war would lead to "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences" (link). In January 2007, Obama introduced legislation to responsibly end the war in Iraq, with a phased withdrawal of troops engaged in combat operations (link). Senator Obama also supports the recommendations of the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group Report (link). This effort will aim to secure Iraq's borders, keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq, isolate al Qaeda, support reconciliation among Iraq's sectarian groups, and provide financial support for Iraq's reconstruction and development.

FACT: Senator Obama has never wavered in supporting a strong U.S. - Israel partnership, in supporting Israel's right of self-defense, or in supporting foreign assistance to Israel. Senator Obama was also a co-sponsor of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. Senator Obama's position has been so frequently distorted on this issue that his campaign has issued a full brief (link).

FACT: Senator Obama supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. He supports stronger, but humane enforcement on the border and at the workplace (link).

Finally, the email you forwarded uses the type of satire that fuels bigotry in the hearts of many Americans. It was the thinly veiled language of hate and fear that really inspired this response.

Immigration is a tough issue that includes some complex legal and economic elements, but also requires a nuanced sensitivity to the sometimes deep cultural, ethnic, and racial dynamics.

The Farsi language is spoken by 144 Million people (link) and is only one of the languages spoken in primarily Muslim countries. Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in the world (link).

Immigrants are not evil. Farsi speakers are not evil. Islam practitioners are not evil.

Evil is the virus that slips past the lessons of our fathers, uses the parasitic hooks of humor, paralyzes the better self, and, in the words of Edmund Burke, causes "good men to do nothing."

I love you, Dad, but I'm voting Obama. See you at Thanksgiving.

matt

So after a few hours, my Dad sent an email response and, again, this is easily the longest single written communication between the two of us.

Son,

Wow. I'm not sure where to begin.

First off, yes, your assumption that this was satire is probably, mostly right. The tone later in the document tells me that the writer was attempting to be more than satirical. Sounds too much like a closet bigot who's personal issues are reflected in his venting. Many an email has crossed our paths that was 10% fact and 90% advocacy. This one was no different.

Your assumption that I sent it to you for "funny" is partly right. I often find even poorly constructed positions such as this to be informative, explaining why some Americans are more afraid than informed. Ignorance of the facts can lead many to strange conclusions. This was surely the case here.

I, too, am probably voting for Obama.

I am not convinced that McCain's positions on many issues can be sustained with success. He has yet to deliver a comprehensive plan or statement that isn't reactionary; no vision, no long term goals or objectives; though neither candidate is preaching about what sacrifices Americans need to make; about changes we must undertake to ween ourselves off of unsustainable life styles.

There is a great deal at risk in the next couple of years, far more than ending an unpopular and ill advised war. Barack Obama appears to have the skills and judgements best suited to lead us through those times.

Every parent hopes their children will live a little better life than they did, not only financially, but spiritually and morally. The older we get, the more we cherish things we may never see or do again. The dangerous path our country is traveling make quality of life issues more prominent, and more precarious.

Lessons and examples not withstanding, you have mirrored an objective of mine that I hold dearly; I love to be informed. From the tone and content of your response, it's clear you are well versed with today's issues. It's also clear that political ideology hasn't clouded your judgement. That's even more impressive. You've always been one who analyzes positions and facts, and makes judgements based on sound conclusions. Your participation in the political process can be nothing less.

When the Republican party nominated McCain, I knew that we'd have a fence rider facing a liberal. But, I was prepared to see what both would say in the ensuing days. I've heard nothing to persuade me that despite McCain's political affiliation, his political beliefs fall in line with mine. So, we're where we are today.

It's ironic that the most unqualified Vice Presidential candidate in decades reflects beliefs most in line with mine--family values, fiscal conservatism, small government. That being said, the worldly view from her vacuum is just too naive.

I hope the intent of your response was to explain your views, your beliefs, and not to argue with a position you thought I advocated. If so, fine. But from past discussions, I'm sure you know my heart and my head. If, however, you are concerned that the tone of the email reflects my beliefs, perhaps I've carried my sarcasm and prodding a little too far. Your Mother-in-Law once told me she had trouble knowing when I was sarcastic or serious. Maybe I'm too good or too poor at both.

At any rate, it's rewarding to see how you digest all that is happening in our world today. Our country faces many challenges in the near future. I pray that those charged with dealing with those challenges have your sense of analysis and judgement.

I love you all.

Pop

I am acutely aware of how many fathers and sons can't have this sort of conversation and I am grateful. Perhaps too, I should thank Senator Obama -- hopefully other families are having similar experiences. Are you?