Republicans seem to have no cohesive narrative and this seems obvious. Democrats are losing their cohesive narrative and again, this is almost a no-brainer. To anyone who is watching the news or paying attention to the rhetoric floating over the internet and across television screens, it’s rather difficult to understand what narrative thread will actually unify our country. Let me suggest that it’s because the new narrative thread isn’t one of unity, but one of division.

We must pause, though, prior to jumping into the 21^st century to consider the unifying narratives that have characterized our country and in fact, these narratives have come to form the core values of the United States. We pause to review the overarching stories, not for nostalgia’s sake, but because in a real sense, we’re in danger of losing them.

The new film “The Road” is coming out this week. Viggo Mortensen plays a desperate father in post-apocalyptic America, walking south through the rubble as he tries to take his son to safety. It’s an amazingly gripping work, depicting survival in a lifeless landscape of ash and cold. It’s also a bit of a horror story, as some survivors succumb to cannibalism, as all other food (animal or vegetable) is dead and gone. 

I wonder how many Republican’s will see this film. And as they watch it, will they look at each other with raised eyebrows? For nearly one year now, the Republican Party has been journeying through the post-Bush rubble, searching for the America of the past. As they sift through the remains of Newt Gingrich’s conservative revolution, they have begun to starve.

Crusader types have always made me a little nervous. I can’t help but wonder where such moral energy springs from and when it’s going to get ugly.  It’s like shopping with a Mountain Dew drinking kid in Nordstroms: something is going to break.  

So we just had yet another politician having a “coming to Jesus” moment with the press, this time in South Carolina. As Governor Sanford came clean, no one won. My heart went out to him, to his family and to the state he led. And I was a little grossed out. It’s just so disturbing to see the latest middle aged white guy, in a dark suit with a pressed white shirt, admitting to moral failure. The wife is always standing quietly in the background clinging to her purse, her lips a thin, flat line.  

When Democrat Bill Clinton was caught with Monica Lewinski and the infamous shiny blue dress, Republican Sanford branded Bill Clinton a “rascal” and said: “I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally [to resign]… I come from the business side,” he said. “If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.” Sigh. Big old stone, flying through the air.