American 'dolls' write to Bush

Los Angeles-based freelance writer Kate Hahn's tongue-in-cheek piece "American Girl dolls write to President Bush" originally appeared at Timothy McSweeney's. It also was mentioned in Friday's edition of Mediabistro's fishbowlLA. An excerpt:

Felicity - A Colonial girl

It's 1774 and I am learning penmanship at Miss Manderly's school. I hope you find my quill scribblings legible, as I have a serious question about the inevitable War of Independence. The Patriots say we must fight in order to have a democratically elected leader, privacy rights and freedom of speech. Yet I understand that you, along with Messrs. Cheney and Rumsfeld, are dismantling these very things. This vexes me. When I am riding my realistically rendered chestnut mare, Penny, or sitting in my scaled-down Windsor writing chair, I ask: Why must our fittest young men die if the Revolution will prove meaningless? If you will make yourself king, should we not avoid the bloodshed altogether? Please write back to me at Merriman Farm, the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lives are at stake.

Samantha - A Victorian girl

Congratulations on a splendid job! I live with Grandmother in 1904 in a New York City mansion, where we enjoy the great rewards of our industrial economy. The other day, as we were riding through Central Park in our historically accurate sleigh, I was looking at my period-perfect stereoscope pictures and feeling sad that my friend Nellie will remain in the servant class for the rest of her life. Then Grandmother remarked that it is the strict societal divisions favoring the fortunate few that allow me to have things like my crystal lemonade set, which comes complete with a Battenberg-lace-edged tablecloth. It made me grateful that you are bringing back the economic divide that allows little girls like me to be so exceedingly happy! Please come to tea. We live in the white house with gold griffins on either side of the front door. Nellie will be outside with a scrub bucket, polishing them.

Comments

[Marilyn]

Brilliant! :)

[Ali la Loca]

I remember looking through those catalogs when I was a little girl and just coveting the dolls, especially Samantha (although now I'd tell her to shove it after those snooty remarks). What a funny, smart piece this is. Thanks for sharing.

[boliyou]

Very clever! Great find, thanks for sharing.

[AscenderRisesAbove]

yes; very clever in deed; it must have taken a long time to pull all of that together. What a perfect way to express oneself.

[Deborah]

a clever, but sad, commentary on the state of our nation.

[Tammy]

Very clever and thought provoking. xo

[Britt-Arnhild]

Thanks for posting these Tara. They both hit the nail perfect. (we have three of the AG dolls at home, they are cute)

[kristen]

How very clever!! And being a parent to a child that adores those American girls, I can say that Felicity's words are spot on!

[ally bean]

lol. this is the best satire I've read in ages. too funny.

[rel]

Tara,
I'd like to say "ain't that precious," but somehow the underlying truths, make it more sad than precious. We must continue to peck away at the current administration's blundering. I find little hope that this administration will ever bend to public will, perhaps we can influence the congress to open their eyes.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
rel

[GoGo]

Very clever. The satire read likes a corset, beautiful made and a constant reminder that our presidency is in an uncomfortable state of health.

I still can't help but think somehow Bush will find a way to stick around. A morbid thought.

[tinker]

Oh, what a wicked, razor sharp wit! Thank you, Tara ;-)

[twitches]

Bwah! These are terrific!

[jzr]

I love these!! So very clever and really is clear about what is going on!! Thank you!!

[Becca]

Such a clever way to encourage people to think about the things going on in this current government. Thanks for sharing...I'm off to read the rest of the correspondence!