Going to Church with Al Gore

I love living in a swing state! Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press carried an article announcing an itinerary for ex-VP Al Gore's trip to Grand Rapids as part of a get-out-the-vote effort prior to Tuesday's general election. He was scheduled to visit four predominantly Black churches in town today, doing a brief drop-in during their regularly scheduled worship services. I was intrigued to see what such an event would be like, so I decided to visit one of them this morning. My initial choice was Macedonia Baptist, the first one on the list, but when I got there, it was just before 11 am, there was no readily available parking nearby and I just got the sense that I should go somewhere else. So I went to stop #2, Brown-Hutcherson Ministries. When I arrived there, it was just after 11, the service had started at 10:45 am, and the choir was in full swing. I was welcomed to an aisle seat in the back row - the place was almost completely full.

So having never visited this congregation before, I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I enjoyed it all nevertheless. It turned out to be a fairly traditional worship service as far as African-American Christianity is concerned. The choir did a lot of singing, the congregation joined right in, the spiritual atmosphere was lively and uplifting, but not, in my opinion, stagy or overwrought. The music continued for a few numbers, then there was a break for announcements and prayers, but no mention of the distinguished visitor that I was expecting, then some more singing, even more full-throated than before. By this time, it was getting to be around 11:45 am. Gore had been scheduled to show up at 11:30 but I figured he would run a bit late, but just as I was starting to wonder if maybe there had been some change of plans, who should I see walking up the aisle but Al and Tipper Gore themselves, looking just like I remember them from TV!

The Gores strolled to the front row and took in a good portion of the singing, and then were introduced several minutes later by Pastor Moody. Al was given a standing ovation and proceeded to make a short speech that ran about 10 - 12 minutes or so. Maybe a bit longer. He indulged in some self-deprecating humor about the 2000 election and the humbling effect that no longer being a government official had on his lifestyle. He told an anecdote about how he and Tipper had once been spotted at a Shoney's restaurant in rural Tennessee and heard a muttered comment about "how far down he had come" by a patron in the next booth over. And when he referred to that same incident in a speech he gave later in Nigeria, it had been translated to the effect that reports emerged that the Gores were planning to operate a low-budget family restaurant! Which of course became fodder for Leno, Letterman, etc.

But that was just the chuckle-inducing warm-up, of course. His main point for the trip was GOTV, of course, and he basically encouraged those in attendance to think back on all that has happened over the past four years and to vote accordingly. The congregation expressed its loud vocal support for him and the cause he represented, and I was pleased to be able to share that moment with everyone else in attendance. I do believe that our country would be better off today if Gore had been named the 43rd president, but that argument is moot, I suppose. Coming somewhat into contact with the security bubble surrounding President Bush yesterday, and seeing how easy and casual Gore's arrival on the scene was, it seemed to me that as a person, Al Gore probably had the better run of it, but he had chosen to place himself in the nation's service and I regret that he didn't get the chance to do so, especially in comparison to the directions pursued by Bush since Jan. 2001.

These things happen for a reason I suppose, but who knows exactly how to figure out what those reasons are? All we can do is learn what we can from the past, and act on those lessons. The confusing aftermath of the 2000 Presidential campaign demonstrated how fragile democracy really is, even after all these years and how strongly institutionalized we all thought it had become. Each election is a uniquely American work of political art, so to speak, and we owe it to our neighbors and our descendents to make the experiment work to its best potential. Al Gore came to church in Grand Rapids, Michigan today to remind us that we all have to do our part.

Bush Appearance in GR

October is almost over with, it's been 3 weeks since I've entered anything here, but no one seems to be reading anyway! I won't bother catching up on recent events, other than to say I've begun a new job at Wedgwood and I'll probably describe more about that later. And I'm glad that the Red Sox won the World Series.

Today's main event was an appearance by President Bush in downtown Grand Rapids. I have been too busy in general lately, including working a hockey game at the Van Andel last night, but I made the decision to go out and protest the event this morning even though I felt more like just relaxing at home. Thinking it over, I simply concluded that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a final public statement this close to the election.

The WMJPC wasn't able to get any kind of a coordinated response together on short notice, so I just went down there as myself, without wearing my WMJPC t-shirt. Instead, I wore my Detroit Lions baseball cap and a matching blue pullover. When I got downtown to DeVos place, I quickly found a good parking place and jumped out to survey the scene. There was a medium sized crowd gathered, with the usual assortment of signs pointing out the misery and failure of Bush's Iraq policy and some seasonal commentary along the lines of "Boo! Bush!", "Bush is Scary, Vote for Kerry!" and "GW Bush: the Great Bumpkin" which I found kind of amusing (note that Halloween is tomorrow...)

I found some familiar faces and hung out with them, not having a sign of my own to carry. But I had a big piece of cardboard and some markers in my car, and after milling about for several minutes, I returned to my vehicle and made a sign that said "Middle Class Suburban White Guy Football Fans Against Bush." Yes, I know I have used that gag before, but it just seemed to fit the occasion. The pro-Bush crowd going into DeVos was definitely cut from the demographic that I represent, so I wanted to send the signal that the Republicans don't "own" guys like me as much as they'd like to assume. And the sign got me lots of positive response, people wanting to take my picture, etc. which is always kind of a fun thing.

I didn't get to see his motorcade either coming or going though. He entered the building from a different direction and though I waited for awhile, I eventually ran out of patience for him to make his departure so I left after about two hours of sign-waving and socializing. It was a fun event, not as intense or high energy as his July visit, or Kerry's own trip to GR a few days after he accepted the Democratic Party nomination. I think most of us are feeling a bit played out on the protest thing, at least for now. The real energy is going into the upcoming election, a much more meaningful event of course. But I'm glad I went, just to be a part of the movement to restore values and integrity to our government.

I'm feeling good about Kerry's chances on Tuesday. Almost enough to be surprised if Bush really does wind up winning. But anything can happen. I just know that no matter what, I and the other peace activists in our society have our work cut out for us. Investment futures in violence are still drawing way too many buyers.

Gary Dorrien

On Monday night, I worked the book table at a lecture delivered by Professor Gary Dorrien, who teaches at Kalamazoo College about an hour south of here in western Michigan. His talk was based on a recently published book, Imperial Designs, which offers a lot of documentation and analysis of the neoconservative movement in high-level American politics over the past ten years or so. Of course, the neocons are the primary ideological force that drove us into the war in Iraq, including among their numbers such key figures as Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby and many others who hold strategically important roles in the executive branch and military leadership of our government.

Rather than try to summarize the argument Dorrien made in my own words, I'll offer a link to an article he wrote covering much of the same territory, though here he gets more into theological interpretation of these developments than he did on Monday. Still, the second half of the article in particular consists of the same material he used for the lecture.

Dorrien is not a light or easy read, but I find his analysis helpful in both providing some needed historical context and giving us an inside look at the intentions and the playbook of the key figures that have been steering US foreign policy over the past several years.

Pearl Jam/Vote for Change Tour

Last night I was able to attend the Pearl Jam concert here in Grand Rapids, part of the Vote for Change Tour sponsored by MoveOnPAC.org. The objective of this tour is to generate voter support to unseat George W. Bush among the fan base of the numerous artists who've agreed to participate. I feel pretty fortunate to have been able to get in (for free!) by virtue of the fact that some friends of mine in the West Michigan Justice and Peace Coalition worked at a voter-registration table. I spent a bit of time there, but I was actually surprised to discover that there wasn't any space reserved for local political action or advocacy groups to promote their messages or announce upcoming events. I had brought along a stack of handouts promoting IGE, WMJPC, Peace Presence and other information that I thought was pretty much in sympathy with the political views embraced by MoveOn and Pearl Jam. But for the most part, other than the register-to-vote table, it felt just like any other rock concert.

Which isn't to say that it was anything less than a wonderful, glorious evening. I enjoyed the show quite a bit, even though I am not a die-hard PJ fan. Unlike the vast majority of the 20-something crowd gathered there. I only own one Pearl Jam CD, a triple-disc live set that was recorded in Pennsylvania on May 3, 2003. That show was the last night of their tour and it was (and still may be) the longest concert ever performed by the band. I figured it would be a good way for me to get a sense of what they are all about. It's a good set, lots of music, some great between-songs commentary and stage banter from Eddie Vedder, and I do see evidence of the charisma that so many of his fans are drawn to.

But since I don't have intimate knowledge of most of their songs, what they are about, the bands history, etc., I was more of a spectator than a participant. No matter. Pearl Jam are a great, powerful, awe-inspiring live band and I relished the occasion to be in a packed-full arena celebrating the raw exuberance of rock and roll music. This was a much different atmosphere than the relatively sterile and pre-programmed environment of the Van Andel Arena, where I've attended a lot of musical events over the past several months. (Check the blog archives for my reviews, going back to May of this year...) The DeltaPlex is a lot like the old warehouse-y barnlike arenas I went to back in the '70's where I saw bands like Queen, Aerosmith, Kiss, Ted Nugent, etc. back in their heyday. Vedder actually had some disparaging comments on how it was the most non-interesting building he'd ever played in, viewed from the outside, and the interior was even worse. But he said it wasn't about the space, but the crowd, and the crowd was fantastic. They really love this band, they sang along from the opening lines of most songs, they surged with excitement and enthusiasm as the music went through its various build-ups and crescendoes, and it's obvious that Pearl Jam are masters of working a crowd and giving highly loyal, smart, well-informed fans something to look forward to every night. They are one of these bands that never plays the same set twice and continually weave new cover tunes and obscure old numbers from deep in their back catalogue into every show. For the Grand Rapids concert, they played, for the first time ever, so said Ed, "Kick Out the Jams" by notorious late-60's radical activist/hippie outlaw Detroit rockers the MC5. I definitely got into that song, it was a real treat for me, probably the one song that I knew better than most of the kids in the audience. So that got me pumping my fist, and made me want to get more Pearl Jam recordings for my collection. It feels really good to discover a truly excellent rock band that I can dig into, learn more about and appreciate on a variety of levels - powerful music, right-on politics, anti-commercial instincts, artistic creativity and spontaneity, working class ethos, dedication, longevity, and more. Of all the groups on the Vote for Change Tour, I am glad that Pearl Jam was the one that chose or was chosen to play (for the first time ever) Grand Rapids, Michigan. It would have been nice to see Bruce Springsteen (who was in Ann Arbor that night, along with R.E.M.) and I admire all the other acts who got involved. But if we could only have one show on the tour, this one was the right one for this town, and for me personally, no doubt about it.

Here are some links to the Grand Rapids Press review and a PJ fan site that has the set list and perhaps eventually some other concert reviews. I will probably post mine there too.