John Boston | The Soothing & Pretend World of Jed Bartlet

John Boston
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I am a 21st-century man, unable to free myself from my computer. I write books and columns, edit videos and am in the midst of starting yet another hare-brained Amos ‘n’ Andy scam of fabulous wealth. What I should do is get away from the screen, exit my sweet sanctuary office and rediscover an hour of Nature, so close by. But, no. Stiff and sore from too much sitting, I’ll stumble 12 feet to the microwave, grab a Coke and take lunch in front of my one-eyed god, my iMac 27-inch. 

Munching on reheated burritos or Chinese food that never spoils, I watch reruns of “The West Wing.” Despite being overrun with Democrats, it’s a sweet and noble show. Aaron Sorkin created a heroic, can-do vision of what American leadership should be. Was it profoundly romanticized? Heavens, yes. That’s, in part, the function of poetry — to remind ourselves not so much of what we are, but what we can be. 

And yet, one of the profound enigmas of life is that you cannot become the man or woman you’re supposed to be unless you can accurately access who you are at your lowest. God, or Solution, cannot get to us where we are not. 

In between lunch mouthfuls, I curse Aaron Sorkin. Not for his politics, but rather, the guy writes so bloody well. The show’s star, Martin Sheen, plays the intellectual giant college president turned commander-in-chief, Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. In an interview, Sheen recalled trying to adlib and experiment with his character, only to return to Sorkin’s scripts, realizing the producer/screenwriter’s instincts were far more compelling. 

What happened to us? 

The show ran seven seasons. Sorkin quit after the fourth. But, he painted a landscape of what America sometimes is in the countless and holy Everymoments where people sacrifice, band together, help others, strive to find God and Do The Right Thing. “West Wing” offered a vision, an example, of what citizens and leaders should be, in good times or dark nights of the soul. 

“The West Wing” made me laugh, teared me up at times. President Bartlet (one “T”) visits a community ravaged by a tornado. Late at night, he wanders into a kitchen where a school bus driver, working for the Red Cross, is washing dishes. It’s just the two of them. The politician in him looks to lighten the day, commenting how proud she must be of the kids she drives daily. She solemnly notes the storm took the lives of four of them. It’s an amazing scene. Instead of some pedantic response, the president just grabs a towel and helps dry dishes.  

There’s a song from a musical long ago, “Paint Your Wagon.” In the middle of a rainstorm, a gambler sings a lyric from “They Call The Wind Mariah” — “… And now I’m lost, so gol’ darn lost, Not even God can find me …” 

What happened to us? 

How did we get so self-righteously enraged? Vulgar? Many of our leaders are patently dishonest and in a profound personal and national state of denial. How did we citizens not just misplace our moral and ethical compass, but not even know what one is? How did we populate our governments with standard bearers who replaced excellence, strength, heroism and beauty with triggering, whining, theft, lying, destruction, nonstop finger-pointing, perversion and a worship of the lowest common denominator? 

What happened to us that we would elect so many leaders, inept to slimy? Why do we choose posers? The despicable and power hungry? 

In “The West Wing,” I just didn’t like that the characters portraying public servants were smart, I adored them. They used high intellects to search for that elusive higher good. They questioned, constantly, their motives vs. how can I cover up, how can I spin, how can I cheat and steal from the public soul and trust with a minimum of public relations damage. The White House staffers in that early 21st century TV show were vulnerable, hard-working and witty. They were worldly, not easily fooled, but so refreshingly vulnerable. Honest. They weren’t driven by last hour’s polling. They strived to do the right thing. Isn’t that what an American public servant should be? 

I rooted for the cast of that show. One reason was that each, in their own way, had a vision of what the country was and what direction America should be sailing. In reality? We don’t have that America now. Probably never had. Today, bureaucrats spend billions on homelessness. To show for it? We have more bureaucrats and more homeless. Wars are everywhere, from our streets and neighborhoods to a real threat of World War III. In eye-watering insanity, we hand over fortunes to terrorist nations and organizations to fund attacks on the decent and helpless. It’s an unsexy issue, but the national deficit could turn us into a third world nation in a blink. We invite illegal immigration by the tens of millions, handing out free credit cards and hotel rooms while ignoring our deserving. Our own government agencies make war on innocent citizens and use their agencies to create a permanent, one-party police state. Once a noble watchdog, the country’s news media is a stank public relations arm of an Orwellian state. I don’t think that TV Democrat, Jed Bartlet, would recognize, or stomach, his country’s or party’s behavior today.  

Yet. Still. Workaholic me. I shall dine on breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snack, with the company of dear, imaginary friends on YouTube or internet movie provider. I’ll nurse a burrito and surrender, for the moment, eavesdropping on my witty and attractive friends from the ether. 

I like that Josiah Edward Bartlet politician on “The West Wing.” I adore his glib White House staff. Funny thing? Forget political party. Jed acted like a president. His crew behaved as true, non-self-serving public servants. 

If only we could get life to imitate art … 

The Santa Clarita’s John Boston has earned more than 100 major writing awards, mostly for commentary. Pick up his “Unauthorized Autobiography of Joe Biden” at his bookstore, johnbostonbooks.com

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