Vote: November 4th

Tomorrow, we will elect the next President of the United States. The result will have great consequences for the nation. This election offers a choice between two men with dramatically different visions of the future. We have strong feelings about this choice. But we feel even more strongly that all Americans, regardless of political preference, have a stake in the outcome and should vote in this critical election.

This is likely to be a close election. Your vote matters. Please use it and make a difference.

If you do encounter long lines, here are some ways to have fun and ensure you can vote:

• Go with friends and/or bring phones, iPods, lawn chairs, food, reading materials, proper clothing, etc.
• Don't believe the polls if they say a candidate is winning or losing. They've been wrong before.
• Ask for the day-off from work or class.
• Verify your polling location BEFORE you head to the polls by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE or contact your local County Election Office. Or, use the Google Maps Voter Info.
• Help others stay in line. Share your food, drink, music, reading materials, election protection information. Remember: we're in this together.
• Make sure to take this number with you so that if you encounter any problems, you can talk to nonpartisan election lawyers who can help: 1-866-OUR-VOTE or request a provisional ballot.
• If you do run into any issues at the polls, Video The Vote and document election problems.

It Must Be About The Issues

I'm sitting behind a one-way mirror in a conference room about to transcribe some meetings and am reading up on our American political candidates for the upcoming Presidential Election this Fall. While the system may be flawed in having only 2 parties represented in the Electoral College, this is the system we must choose the next President in, and it would be wise to understand each party ticket thoroughly.


To sum up this point, Sojourner Jim Wallis gives an amazing summary of how we should approach our choice in his blog this past week:

"All four of the political figures on their respective party tickets have been shown to have compelling personal stories. All four are "real people," as the slogan goes. But this election must not just be about personalities, or inspiring personal histories; it must be about the issues, the records, the leadership, and the facts. May God help us to stay focused on that. Last week belonged to the Democrats, this week to the Republicans. Now, after the showy conventions of the past two weeks, the real work of this election can begin."

Review: Into Great Silence

The monastic life-style has always intrigued me. From the self-discipline of daily rituals to the stripping away of everything one owns, the faith and dedication a monk uses is noble and true. Or maybe the attraction lies in the fact that you get to dress like a Jedi. Whether I could have survived, is one question. Since most that enter such monasteries never last but a few years. But the more pertinent question is: Could I have survived psychologically? I would probably best the psychology… but definitely not the silence.

German filmmaker Philip Gröning apparently spent about six months living as a monk before attempting to capture their lives in film. And his patience and persistence paid off. Into Great Silence, the documentary about the Grande Chartreuse Monastery in the French Alps lived up to my expectations. The silence associated with the lives of these monks was captured by the endless silence (2:40 hours) of the film. That in itself is a story.

Apparently, the filmmaker went to the abbot to discuss his idea of a film about the monks. The abbot responded somewhat positively and said that he would get back to him. Reply he did… 16 years later! Time passing through an hourglass.

The filming was a study in time itself. Gröning captured light and darkness, color and shapes extraordinarily well. It was like watching an infinite number of slides merging one into the next effortlessly. As the viewer slows down and moves into the world of the monastery, the endless silence changes the sounds of the simple task into a chorus of movement and meditation.

The entire quarter moved towards being able to take the gift of transcendental film. Fridays have been an interesting ride and truly a gift perfectly placed at the end of a long week of studies. Being able to slow down and observe the world through new eyes of a filmmaker was not only a gift of transcendence, but a gift of transportation away from the hustle and bustle of a seminarian life and into a tranquility of quiet reflection.