State of the Union.

President Bush has called for the extension of the Patriot Act because the threat terrorists pose to our liberties and our safety. They might come into possession of “new-cue-ler” weapons, too. Rallying people around the notion that their safety can only be provided by one man feels wrong, and I’m surprised that the voting majority of the United States does not agree.

I was raised in a conservative town by a conservative family. I have conservative leanings. Go ahead, boo that. But I definitely have a moderate approach to life. I can understand and I even agree with many facets of the Rep.-Dem. platforms. I am baffled by the prevailing thought that it must be one or the other. That people’s brains are too cluttered with their own lives to balance views. They want to be told. They want a leeeeeeeeeader. I have never been in support of one man. But I see how it’s easier to do than exert any intellectual effort.

Similarly, I know why entertainment-types hire personal assistants. It’s easier than exerting any of their own physical effort. “Oops. I left my dry cleaning somewhere. That’s okay. The assistant I don’t pay can go pick it up.” I want to steer clear of landing in bitching territory, so I will only say that the state of the boss-assistant union will always be a tenuous one. The boss wields the power of possibility, and the assistant’s constant naiveté will ultimately be his/her undoing. The boss is never looking to help you move on from being his or her assistant. There’s no point in doing that.

So, I simultaneously find it surprising and not-at-all-surprising to learn that my “in” for a job (on a certain movie to which I will not directly refer) comes at the cost of my becoming an assistant for someone associated with the production. It won’t be the job for which I’m interviewing, but I will be asked (once/if hired) to step away from that job description and be the direct assistant of this film’s producer.

I’m a crappy assistant. I’m a little too selfish to ever be a good one. But, potentially, I would be in a position to be noticed by other people who might like to tap into my other talents at some point in the future. Given that I do not wish to leave LA, I am definitely mentally reinforcing myself so that I can endure what could potentially be three-months of paid bitch assistant work. But that might be the aforementioned naiveté talking. In any case, the state of this union, should it come to pass, will also be a tenuous one. The physical and intellectual effort that will be required of my admittedly weak fortitude will be considerable, but the threat unemployment poses to my liberty and my safety is too great to ignore.

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.