The West Wing, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Hope

It is no surprise to those who know me that I am upset by the current political situation in this country.  It grieves me to think of children in cages and other occurrences of blatant disregard for human life. Last year, we began to watch Designated Survivor and I was soothed by a man with principles and decency.  President Kirkman gave me hope. We buzzed through the first two seasons on Netflix and awaited the third season.  Sadly, this season, produced by Netflix, was only 13 episodes long and **poof** we were done. Yearning for another POTUS with principles and decency, we turned to The West Wing, seven seasons strong and unwatched by me, ever.  Somehow, I missed this gem when it was on network television.  Finding it now is a godsend to me in this chaotic political time in the US.  President Bartlet is a man who reads some relatively obscure books, who shops for Christmas gifts in a rare book store, who is decent and caring.  He is a flawed man who seems to embrace his flaws but who realizes he has them. Those who work for him are idealistic and energized. They believe in this man (Bartlet) and what the administration is trying to do to make the country better.  We are in the second season and they have just hired Ainsley, a Republican, to work in the White House. She was all set to decline the job offer when she saw the president and his staff handle some situations and she realized that, while they may have some differences in philosophy, the president and his staff are working from their hearts to provide a better life for the citizens of the United States. Watching the workings of this fictional White House is riveting.  To see the hours they put in, the problems they face, and the caring way they handle it all, gives me hope. To see that some of the staffers gave up lucrative jobs outside of politics because they believed in Jed Bartlet’s message and they were compelled to jump on board makes me hope for an inspirational person with a vision for this country. 

I am fatigued by those who would use our country for their own gain and not worry about how the other half lives.  The president is supposed to be president for all, not just a select few that meet his or her criteria. The president is supposed to rise above and unite people, to pick battles that need fighting, not to pick fights via Twitter. In my mind, the office of the president should inspire the one who holds it to become a better person.  It is imperative, I think, for the person holding this office to realize the immensity of the task ahead of him or her, to realize all they don’t know and to grow into a better person who puts their heart and soul into doing the very best they can for the citizens of the United States.  The president of the United States should also be a world leader who provides a moral compass to some of the countries lacking basic humanity. The president should strive to be an example, a role model, someone possessing the leadership qualities that inspire us to want to be better. The president should lift us up.  President Bartlet gives me hope that this will again exist in our country.

The fact that Lawrence O’Donnell was a part of this series helps me to understand why it is so good and why The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell is a show that has become a vehicle for the man to stand up against the atrocities besieging this country.  I feel sure he had to be a voice of reason in the chaos. He was instrumental in bringing President Bartlet to us and he had a large hand in shaping the kind of flawed but intrinsically good man the character of President Bartlet was and became.  I have always liked Lawrence O’Donnell and now I like him more. It sounds trite to say it, but it must be said. He is a voice in the silence. A light in the darkness. A beacon of hope.

That is my last word.