Culture in Demorest Georgia

One of the benefits about being associated with an institution of higher learning, namely Piedmont College, is the opportunity to enjoy great performances. At Christmas, the music department does a Lessons & Carols that attracts more than 1600 people from the community over two nights. Every semester, the Theater Department produces plays that are absolutely marvelous. Vicki is singing with the Piedmont Chorale that will be performing Mozart's Mass in C Minor later in the Spring.

Last night, Vicki and I attended a production of Amahl and The Night Visitors at the new Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Mass Communication. Amahl was the first opera written for television and premiered on Christmas Eve in 1951. It was written by Gian Carlo Menotti and is still considered one of the most popular American operas.

The story is a classic Christmas story. The Three Kings, on their way to Bethlehem, stop for a brief rest at the home of a poor peasant woman and her crippled son. During the course of the night, the woman is tempted to steal some of the gold they carry in order to help provide food for herself and her son. After hearing about the character of this new born king, the lame boy willingly offers his crutch as a present for the babe. At that moment, the crippled boy is miraculously healed and joins with the kings to go to Bethlehem.

The house was about 95% full, probably 300 in attendance last night. It was a full production with orchestra and all. The production was first rate. But, it was even better because I knew all of the major players in the production. So, in addition to enjoying the singing and the production, I got to enjoy John Paul, Jeremy, and Patrick as the kings, Donna as the peasant woman, and Jennifer as Amahl.

This kind of opportunity is a "perk" that is priceless.

Hope or desperation

I did not think I would react to any thing more about the Primary season, but, as is usual for my Monday, I was at the campus Fitness center tonight and, once again, the televsion set in the exercise room was on FOX. For any person who enjoys FOXNEWS, this is not a criticism of them; it is merely a response to one of the segments.

The hosts were interviewing Mike Huckabee's wife, regretfully I did not catch her first name. (The following does not represent a precise quote, since it is really difficult to write down answers while you are struggling away on the elliptical machine.) The first question asked was pretty direct. "Why should your husband be president?" Her answer came quickly, "Because with Mike Huckabee, what you see is what you get."

I thought this was a clever response and also thought it interesting that this was the first, and only, qualification she gave as to why her husband should be selected to run the country. By answering the question in this way, Mrs. Huckabee suggested that none of the other candidates are as genuine as her husband, i.e. they are fake in some way. Further, she suggested that this was a sufficient reason to choose someone to serve our country as president.

That provoked me. How do we select the person we will support for president? What dynamics are involved? I wish I could say that I believed the American public makes reasoned and informed choices as it votes for elected officials at every level, but especially for president. Unfortunately, I fear that is not the case because it seems the system is stacked against us. Despite our best intentions, it is difficult for us to make reasonable choices when what we have available to us is a collection of sound bites.

So, do we vote out of personal fear of what might happen to our country if we do not choose one particular person? Do we vote out of fear of what might happen to the "moral fabric" of our country, however that is defined? Do we vote for one whom we think will be able to bring together the disparate segments of our country? Do we vote for that person whose message is so uplifting that it gives us hope for the future? Do we vote for fresh enthusiasm or confident experience? Or do we vote out of a sense of desperation, the "anyone but ..." syndrome.

Whether out of hope or desperation, wouldn't it be wonderful if, this year, a majority of eligible voters actually voted for the president? Wouldn't it be wonderful if more people voted for the leader of our country for the next four years than voted for the next American Idol? Wouldn't it be great if as many people got involved in the political process as have been following the Britney Spears saga?

Maybe, as a nation, we are finally desperate enough to hope for this to happen.