Stop Calling Me Surly

All come to look for America

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There’s hope for change if you’re uncomfortably numb because you have yet to “feel the Bern” among friends who do it effortlessly, early and often. Your best opportunity to rise to the occasion is to watch a video guaranteed to make a newcomer of a latecomer. Insert your earbuds appropriately and YouTube the “Bernie Sanders America” ad. If you feel goosebumps, inspiration and exuberance, send Bernie a check for, “Citizens United McMitigation.” You may review the promo for as many as four hours. Then you must get off immediately or risk irreversible damage to your hard drive.

The ad is a masterpiece for its soothing contrast with “the cacophony of (traditional) political ads,” according to The New York Times. “No speeches, no slurs, only the warm harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel singing ‘America.’” With a montage that celebrates citizens more than the candidate, the ad conveys the momentum of a movement, according to Ted Devine, Sanders’ senior strategist.

The 1968 tune, layered with meaning, has a rich and poignant history. It references Kathy (Chitty), also of “Kathy’s Song,” whose love inspired young Paul Simon’s meteoric rise. Ironically, international stardom shattered their comfort and solace. The romance that Simon, 74, cherished for its carefree splendor, ended as Chitty fled the traumatict crush of fans and journalists.

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Of whores and hoops

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