Presidential Bio Project
Things have changed since we last spoke. My last Life post is dated September 29, and we are now almost a month removed from the establishment of one of the fears I mentioned in the post—a fear for our future that was realized on Election Night. Now I, of course, harbor a mere tinge of worry compared to others in minorities around me, but it is still hard to believe that such an abominable and disgraceful human being is now in a place of power and respect; in fact, the highest place of power and respect. A small part of my distress even comes from the fact is that I've enjoyed following politics for so long, and have always been fascinated by the White House, its goings-on, and its residents. Now, I find it hard to even turn in its direction.
Due to my belief that He Who Must Not Be Named might well be the absolute worst president to assume office in the history of our United States, I came to the conclusion that I should first seek out the competition. I always hear names like Taylor and Nixon and Pierce thrown around as recipients of the award for "Worst President Ever," but I've decided to form my own opinions on the topic, and that means reading up on every president the United States has ever had.
Which leads us to the presidential biography project.
My next reading escapade has become a thematic one. I'm reading one biography on each of our forty-four presidents—forty-three men, thanks to Grover Cleveland who served two nonconsecutive terms. I'm thirty pages into my read on George Washington—Washington by the famed Ron Chernow—and have only just realized what a daunting project I've gotten myself into. Of course, Chernow is a brilliant writer, and yes, I wanted to read more, but maybe not 1,000+ pages on one human being...forty times over. I remind myself with every page turn that this is worth it and important.
And no, I am not the only one, as you might think for a moment. It's a thing. There are entire websites and forums dedicated to blogging and documenting a reader's journey through the lives of our forty-four presidents. My favorite is this guy's, who writes just as well as any of the biographers themselves. I feel a sense of patriotism and historical wonder just from reading his book reviews.
I think it's patriotism that got me initially interested in embarking on this adventure in the first place. It's only December, and I've found it's hard for me to imagine respecting the Office of the President when I have no respect for the man who actually is the president, and somewhere deep down, I hope this project can help me find a way to feel better or more positive about the bleak outlook that currently shrouds our nation. The project will take me something like four years anyway, so at the very least, it will provide a worthwhile distraction from the ensuing madness.
Short answer to why I'm doing this? "I want to be the kind of woman Josh Lyman would date."