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Sunglasses at night. My friend Martin points out Time’s cover story this week, Inside the Mind of John Kerry. Ah, even its subtitle tells me positive things:

The Democratic candidate deals in shades of gray, which means reaching a decision can be a long and winding road.

I like John Kerry’s dealing in shades of gray because (1) that’s how my mind works, and (2) that’s how the world mostly is. Very little in the world shakes out as black or white. In fact, I observe that its Creator nearly always transcends even shades of gray: God thinks, moves, and is a full spectrum of radiant color.

IOW, I just don’t see much warrant for black/white thinking.

Night One. Watching Night One of the Democratic Convention last night, I was — to my surprise — dazzled. I never thought I’d care this much.

The PBS coverage I saw started with BeBe Winans’ unusually phrased but profoundly moving rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. By its end, my tears were flowing.

Then the speakers delivered one truth-telling, nondelusional, embracing speech after another — Al Gore, then Jimmy Carter, then Bill Clinton (among others). What a refreshing change of pace! Say what you will about them, these guys can speak, and speak well. Made me realize how hungry I’ve been for articulate, reasoned, hope-filled words from my leaders (C-SPAN video links).

Al Gore. Like/respect/appreciate Al or not, there’s little doubt the world would be different now if 2000 had turned out differently. Why would the world be different? Because electing a president is only somewhat about the person of the officeholder; it’s more about putting power and money behind a worldview, which is enacted by many, encompasses more, and in this interconnected world, affects all. As skillfully conveyed by these speakers, there’s a world of difference in the U.S. political parties’ worldviews before us.

Jimmy Carter. That Jimmy was the evening’s bulldog fascinates me. He has military cred, has earned the world’s respect over decades, and at 81 has little to lose by challenging the Powers That Be. The man is unassailable in his decades of service to humanity, his commitment to making the world a better, more peaceful place. Perfect? Of course not. But he and Rosalyn have done more to make the world a better place than most of us ever have, especially me. I yack on and pontificate; they act.

Jumped off the TV screen at me: Jimmy’s repeated use of the word extremist to describe this administration’s policies and actions, which I think — as much as we hate to admit it — aptly and honestly captures their underlying similarity to Islamic extremist ones. Then the observation that “This election decision affects America’s soul.” Indeed it does; every cell and sinew of my body knows this. Something about these days reminds me of the county-fair livestock goat- and sheep-judgin’ contests of my youth, except in this contest we’re judging ourselves. (Carter quote from memory: I’ll find the exact quote and update this.)

Bill Clinton. Bill used self-deprecation well to make his points; for example, pointing out that for the first time in his life, he is in the wealthiest 1%, and as a result Republicans have never treated him so well. Comparing each of several benefits he’s enjoyed as a wealthy American under a Republican congress and administration (tax cuts, etc.) with the cost to us as a people, I think he effectively conveys the unfairness of a worldview that sees wealthy folk as the blessed ones and rewards them at the expense of others. (Ancient Israel made this mistake repeatedly, and God repeatedly disabused them of the notion. The temptation to interpret wealth as blessing continues to this day.)

Bill’s standout quote for me? “For their system to work, Republicans need a divided America, but we don’t. And about things that matter most, we aren’t.” (Again from memory, will update.)

A king with clothes. Which worldview serves us best? Which serves God’s interests best? For me, it’s no contest:

I look at the rich variety of people at the Democratic Convention — colors and genders and socioeconomic variety and ideas and inclusivity — and I see the Kingdom. I used to wonder what it looks like, and now I think I know: in this rich panoply of peoples, ideas, hopes, and dreams, the Spirit dwells.

2004-07-29 update:
I watched the first night on PBS television, thinking its coverage would be relatively free of obnoxious commentary. What happened? I kept yelling at the commentators to please shut the hell up. Succeeding nights: I switched to the C-SPAN cable channel. Ah, C-SPAN: all content, no commentary. It’s wonderful.