A fellow “State of the Union” boycotter:

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: January 29, 2006 – February 04, 2006 Archives

I have a confession: I’m not sure when the last time was when I watched the State of the Union address. I think I may have watched it in 2003. But I’m not even certain of that. Perhaps a glance through the archives would show that I watched a bit of it last year, I don’t know.

The truth is, I find it unwatchable.

Now, I read the transcript later. I’ll often go back and watch key sections so I can get the flavor of a particular passage in the speech or of a debate it has spawned.

But the thing itself (watching the actual production in real time) and then the imbecile chatter afterwards — I just can’t deal. I just find it unbearable.

Are there others out there like me? I know that a great portion of the country never watches the thing and can’t be bothered with politics in any case. But are there others out there who are genuine political junkies — downright incurables — and yet can’t bear to watch this thing?

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Josh Marshall is like me, with some similar reasons, but I have certain theological sensibilities that make it even more ubearable than the simple political shenanigans and dishonesty (in Joshua’s defense, I’m sure there’s “more to it” than what I just said for him too—-including a sense of “moral outrage” that is something akin to the ourage I feel as a particular type of follower of Christ). There’s also the almost proud-of-it attitude that “we’re gettin’ done what needs doin'”—all based on the outrageous lie that further propping up of the rich benefits everybody. Too bad it’s just not Christian. And even all the more “too bad” because the American political system simply just isn’t capable of doing a faint imitation of the Kingdom to which Christians are supposed to bear witness.