So last Friday I was talking to the First Lady of the United States about St. John’s English…
OK, that’s a slight exaggeration. But I was in the Rose Garden at the White House last Friday afternoon, as a guest of Dr. Jill Biden, professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College as well as FLOTUS. My son’s girlfriend is Dr. Biden’s scheduler, so we received personal invitations, as well as a special after hours tour of the White House that evening.
The fans were there for Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlett’s idealism and Aaron Sorkin’s hints of an upcoming reboot. But I responded most powerfully to Dr. Biden’s speaking about being an English professor and teacher of writing. She focused her short remarks on the West Wing episode in which Donna Moss, the White House assistant whose maturation into a skilled political operative was a long-burning developmental arc across many seasons, seeks out her high school English teacher to thank her. In the episode, “Stirred” in season 3, Donna calls her teacher and says, “I”m in the Oval Office with the President of the United States, and it’s because of you.” Dr. Biden connected the work of political leaders, including many current senior officials who were mingling with us in the audience on Friday, to the team that created the fictional “West Wing” on TV. “We are all storytellers,” FLOTUS said.
It was great fun to visit the White House, and to chat with many current staffers who remember being inspired by the West Wing on TV when they were kids.
(I note parenthetically that my attendance at this event does not constitute an endorsement of the current administration nor of any candidate in the coming election. As Chair of English at St. John’s, however, I am interested in thinking about the relationship between storytelling and American politics.)
It’s always good to be reminded that people care about the things English majors do!
Leave a Reply