In the Rough - The Blog of Joel McDonald Jr.

Maureen Dowd of The New York Times shares Aaron Sorkin’s account of what a meeting between West Wing’s President Josiah (Jed) Bartlet and Senator Barack Obama would be like, and the advice Bartlet would give to the presidential candidate:

GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence.

[Read the entire account here]

For some reason, we like secrets. We like knowing something that others do not, and then the pleasure of keeping that something from others. What happens, though, when the secret we keep doesn’t only keep others in the dark, but also ourselves? What would we do then? Live in darkness? For how long can we live without the light? How long can we hold on to a secret when that secret forces alienation upon us, apart from the world where we belong?

What of this living in the dark? Would this not cause a warping of the mind, the intense desire to hide ourselves from the world? Can we take pleasure in our secret and live in the dark as well? Would this be healthy? Would we drive ourselves to do what we would not do in the light because of the darkness we force upon ourselves with our secret? What pits would we fall into while preserving the secret that prevents the aid of light?

More than the pleasure of a secret is the pleasure of gaining a new one. A secret captured is a feat, one we celebrate within ourselves as if we conquered the climb of Everest. We count our collection of secrets precious and gleam in the glow of new secrets added to the lot. What if a secret is too much? What if that someone in the darkness ready to step into the light at the loss of the preservation of their secret, specifically the giving of their secret to you, causes you to revolt against the offering? What if the secret is so much that you would rather push that soul into their darkness once again than to accept their secret and allow them to stand in the light? Would you not care that their glimpse of light lost as you banished them to the darkness be more painful than the secret you felt so overwhelmed with?

As one with such a secret, would you rather voluntarily live in darkness forever to avoid the possibility of being pushed from the light, or chance life in the light at the risk of being sentenced to the darkness?

He just sat there wondering what he was going to do the next day, and the next, and the days following after. Darren hated making decisions, and avoided coming into conflict with a choice; almost at all costs. For someone who to so many seemed to be the very epitome of having his life together, Darren would rather defer to another or leave it all up to chance if it meant that he wasn’t the one who would be making the decision.

Indecisiveness, however, can only move a person but so far. Sure, there might be some success in a life lived without making solid decisions, but these successes can only be short lived, like lightening in a storm; a flash of powerful brilliance. It’s only a flash though, a temporary spark. For anything lasting, any long term constructive energy to be maintained there must be planning; and planning by nature requires making decisions. And Darren hated making decisions.

There on the park bench, overlooking the lake, Darren found it hard to settle on what to invest his time and energy into. The pressure of the closing day and the perceived expectations the world lingered heavy on his mind. Of what consequence were his actions in the lives of others? Would the sacrifices required in the making of a decision be worth the return on such an investment? Would the value of the accomplishment of a decided goal outweigh what he would give up to pursue that goal?

The sun was setting into the trees surrounding the lake, changing them from comforting greens to dark silhouettes behind a golden sky. Each moment as the sun moved toward and then into the horizon seemed to Darren as a clock counting down to a moment where either a decision is made or all hope for success is lost.

Taking a deep breath, Darren pushed back the imposing deadline in his mind to another day. Perhaps that day would be tomorrow, or the next, or a day that follows after. What he knew was that he would again confront this decision again, and as the sun vanished into the western horizon and sky turned dark, all Darren could think of what how much he hated making decisions.

His origins mysterious and dark. What we do know is that he was taken from his mother at an extremely young age, shipped across the country, and sold into bondage. It’s well know where most like him end up; facing the heat of the kitchen or sacrificed in the ongoing drug war within our nation. But Marty escaped this fate, as he was purchased with something much different in mind: He would be an Easter Egg.

While his calling ensured the extension of his life, and some remarkable publicity on highly regarded blogs, all involved know that his days are numbered, and they are few.

So Marty, wherever you are and whatever your status, we thank you for being the best Easter Egg you could be.

Farewell.