Political Theater and the Democratic National Convention

In the midst of our journey through the south, and while deep in conversations about civil rights and the lack of resolution from the Civil War, we rolled into Charlotte, NC during the Democratic National Convention. It was on our way to Durham where we were going to hang out for a few days, visit Elijah's cousin Owen and give Elijah a chance to check in at the RTP Cisco campus. But we chose to stop because my God-Sib Jonas, Jed's older brother, was touring with a group of actors doing guerilla productions of a play that he co-wrote. The play is called Mr. Satan Goes to Wall St. They had already performed the play in New York City, in places like Zuccotti Park, and in Tampa during the Republican Nation Convention. Now they were in Charlotte for the DNC. Jonas' plays are always entertaining and we wanted to show the kids what political street theater is all about. They ended up performing the play at around 8:30 pm in a suburban shopping center next to a 24 hour cafe on the outskirts of Charlotte, so we didn't get to witness the DNC circus. Elijah and I were both a little relieved to not have to struggle through crowds of police and political types with three kids in tow. Our kids were very excited to have a bunch of actors to hang out with, adults they could play with who were not their parents but were still fun.

Hannah watching the play begin from Elijah's lap.

The kids got a front row seat.

Hannah got up several times and walked towards the play. I couldn't tell if it was because she wanted to see better, wanted to be in the play, or because she had made friends with the cast and wanted to go back to getting attention from them.

Eli got so excited by one of the songs his new friend was singing that he had to jump up and down in his seat.

It was a really fun play. I imagine it went over really well with the Occupy people in NYC. Our kids enjoyed it too, but I think more for the music and the really nice cast then for the political discourse. Elijah and I liked the political discourse. Elijah especially liked the Noam Chomsky joke.

By the time the play ended and we packed the kids back into the car to head for Durham it was after 10 pm at night. The kids really enjoyed the play, and so did the grown ups, thank you Jonas! The next few nights we watched the DNC speeches in our hotel in Durham. There is a lot to be discussed in this country, so much unresolved work going back to the beginning of the country, intensified by the Civil War and not fully resolved during the Civil Rights Movement. At the same time I sat watching an African-American president give a speech in a room full of people of every color and many lifestyles. We have already come very far since the time of the colonies, slowly but surely the enlightenment is doing its work, sinking rule of law into every nook and cranny. For every defeat or set back progressive thought makes the larger concepts of justice continue to move it forward baby step by baby step. As a parent of three small children its comforting to see the changes over the span of American history. Driving across the country makes these things more clear. The poverty is extreme at the moment, many places in the U. S. are in all truth third world. The bigotry and intolerance, objectification of women, and greed are all still there. But we are so much freer, more integrated, more equal, more open minded then we once were, its a little bit exciting.