Say It in Fifty Five Words or Don’t!

I listen to audio books while making too frequent treks on I-95. Today’s selection was The World’s Shortest Stories of Love and Death. The criteria for these stories are that they are all 55 words and are about love and death. The stories are the winners of the annual “Fifty-Five Fiction” writing contest held by the New Times in San Luis Obispo.

Listening to these stories and considering the upcoming election, it struck me how succinctness is lacking in political observations. For 30 out of my 55 years I’ve lived outside the U.S. and I’ve grown ambivalent towards American politics. Without any contemporary Winston Churchills to inspire me to longer prose, I’ve decided to sum up who I’m supporting in 2008 and why in 55 words or less.

I support Barack Obama for president because:

• He is an American racial hybrid. His election would be an important statement for the U.S.
• He has stopped wearing his flag pin.
• Obama supports returning veterans.
• HumanEvents.com, “leading the Conservative movement since 1944”, calls him an “Obamination”.

Reason enough for me to support Obama!

Submitted by Betty Story. Betty Story is a writer, researcher and recovering librarian. She can be contacted at betstory@storyinfo.net