A Brief Political Manifesto<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was driving around the packed Costco parking lot
\nlooking for a space and listening to some guy
\non NPR talk about America\u2019s growing suburban poor
\nwhen I saw this woman with four kids\u2014
\nlittle stepladders, two-four-six-eight\u2014
\nwaiting to climb in the car while Mom
\nloaded a cask of peanut better and
\npallets of swimsuits into the back
\nof this all-wheel drive vehicle
\nand the kids were so cute I waved
\nand that\u2019s when I saw the most amazing thing
\nas the woman bent over
\nto pick up a barrel
\nof grape juice:
\nher low-rise pants rose low and right there
\nin the small of her large back
\nstretched a single strained string,
\na thin strap of fabric, yes,
\nthe Devil\u2019s floss, I shit you not
\na thong, I swear to God, a thong,
\nnow me, I\u2019m okay with the thong
\npolitically and aesthetically, I\u2019m fine
\nwith it being up there or out there,
\nor wherever it happens to be.<\/p>\n
My only question is:
\nwhen did Moms start wearing them?<\/p>\n
I remember my mom\u2019s underwear
\n(Laundry was one of our chores:
\nwe folded those things awkwardly,
\nlike fitted sheets. We snapped them
\nlike tablecloths. Thwap.
\nMy sister stood on one end,
\nme on the other
\nand we walked toward each other
\ntwice.<\/p>\n
We folded those things
\nlike big American flags,
\nhats off, respectful
\ncareful not to let them
\nbrush the ground.)<\/p>\n
Now I know there are people out there
\nwho constantly fret about
\nthe Fabric of America;
\ngay couples getting married, violent videos, nasty TV,
\nthat sort of thing.
\nBut it seems to me
\nthe Fabric of America
\nwould be just fine
\nif there was a little more of it
\nin our mothers\u2019 underpants.<\/p>\n
And that is the issue I will run on
\nwhen I eventually run:
\nGetting our moms out of thongs
\nand back into hammocks
\nwith leg holes
\nthe way God
\nintended.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“A Brief Political Manifesto” originally appeared in\u00a0The Financial Lives of the Poets<\/em><\/a> (Harper Perennial, 2010).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jess Walter’s<\/a> work has been translated into more than 20 languages and his essays, short fiction, criticism and journalism have been widely published, in\u00a0Details<\/em>,\u00a0Playboy<\/em>,\u00a0Newsweek<\/em>,\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em>, the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>,\u00a0The Boston Globe<\/em>\u00a0among many others.\u00a0His nonfiction book,\u00a0Every Knee Shall Bow<\/em>,<\/a> was a finalist for the pen Center West literary nonfiction award in 1996. His novel\u00a0Citizen Vince<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>won a 2006 Edgar Allan Poe award, and his following novel,The Zero<\/em>,<\/a> was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award. His most recent novel is Beautiful Ruins.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Brief Political Manifesto I was driving around the packed Costco parking lot looking for a space and listening to some guy on NPR talk about America\u2019s growing suburban poor when I saw this woman with four kids\u2014 little … Continue reading