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GoneOffShore
GoneOffShore's Journal
GoneOffShore's Journal
October 7, 2019
The last paragraphs are telling:
Here's a link to the original piece from 2008 -
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/27/undecidedThe last paragraphs are telling:
I didnt vote again until 1976, when I was nineteen and legally registered. Because I was at college out of state, I sent my ballot through the mail. The choice that year was between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Most of my friends were going for Carter, but, as an art major, I identified myself as a maverick. That means an original, I told my roommate. Someone who lets the chips fall where they may. Because I made my own rules and didnt give a damn what anyone else thought of them, I decided to write in the name of Jerry Brown, who, it was rumored, liked to smoke pot. This was an issue very close to my hearttoo close, obviously, as it amounted to a complete waste. Still, though, it taught me a valuable lesson: calling yourself a maverick is a sure sign that youre not one.
I wonder if, in the end, the undecideds arent the biggest pessimists of all. Here they could order the airline chicken, but, then again, hmm. Isnt that adding an extra step? they ask themselves. If its all going to be chewed up and swallowed, why not cut to the chase, and go with the platter of shit?
Ah, though, thats where the broken glass comes in.
Profile Information
Name: SamGender: Male
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Current location: Aix-en-Provence
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 17,339