My afternoon with Rachel Maddow

Ah, Rachel Maddow. She's brilliant. Despite being unable to sign my book after the show, her words, message, and overall charm were more than enough to inspire and motivate. My sister and I were two of the about two-thousand patrons of the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara yesterday afternoon. It was a comfort to see how many people came in support -- there's hope for America after all!

When I first started watching Rachel on MSNBC three years ago, there was very little not to like about her. If anything, there were those petty complaints a girl can have about another of her kind. But her wit, humility, and command of subject matter earned her the right to be imperfect in other ways. In her talk, she explained how she doesn't think about the thousands (or millions) of viewers when she's broadcasting. She instead thinks of her partner, Susan, or the camera lady, Jackie, or her parents, and how she would explain things to them. The true sign of expertise in a field is the ability to accurately explain complex ideas to laymen, without making them feel inferior, and to the contrary, empowering them to take interest. This is what Rachel Maddow has done for me. She readily admits that there is no such thing as unbiased news, and the fact that I know who she is and what she stands for only strengthens my convictions in her. 

Her greatest show of command was during the q&a portion of the talk when she was asked about how people should vote. Her answer to question like these was simply that the vote is only one (small) tool we have as people, and that not voting, or voting a third-party long shot really isn't to get your voice heard in our system. She suggested, in a very nonjudgmental and matter-of-fact way, to align yourself with the candidate that most closely represents your interests, vote for them, and if s/he is elected, to pressure them do doing what needs to be done. Political power doesn't only come around once every two or four years-- we have it every day. 

There was a noticeable sigh from the audience when the topic of the presidential debates was brought up yesterday. But in true Rachel-form, she quickly put both hands up and with a ear to ear smile, reassured the audience that it's OK because there are still 3 more debates coming up and everything will be fine. She is no pessimist. She is such an optimist that it's contagious. Probably for that reason, the audience roared in applause when she was asked if she considers running for political office one day. She was flattered but answered no, and left us with one of the most empowering statements of the night: She began by saying how honored she is to have so many people sitting in the dark on such a beautiful Sunday in "beach town" listening to her speak because we agree on so many issues. Then she posed the question: Why don't you run? There's about two-thousand people here who would probably vote for you too.

Maybe I will one day, Rachel. Maybe I will.