What happens when you tell your best friends and family that you have decided to scooter across country to capture the thoughts of your fellow voters in the run up to the 2008 presidential election?  Furrowed foreheads.  At least at first.  Followed by the most heartwarming support and encouragement.

My plan is to ride my 250cc scooter from San Jose to Washington DC starting on October 4th, recording voter’s stories, perceptions and preferences along the way.  Inspired by a personal revelation that, along with much of the country, I had lost the ability to engage in civil discourse with people who do not share my world view, I decided that I need practice.  And what better way to get it than to commit to a 2900 mile solo road trip through as many red states as possible carrying a promise to faithfully record and podcast, without evangelizing for or against, those views.

The seeds for this adventure started after the California Supreme Court had overturned the gay marriage ban while I was attending a friend’s wedding in Michigan.  Sitting with family that I love and admire, and with whom I share similar upbringing and education, the conversation turned to this most current event.  But the debate was short lived.  Early in the discussion, when I asked how gay’s being married diminished their conventional marriage, a family member responded, ”Where do you stop?  If men can marry each other, then why don’t we just make it legal for people to marry dogs?”

And there is was.  An audible clicking noise in my head.  The discussion was over.  All the neurons in my brain had disengaged and I was rendered mute. This became the metaphor for many of the discussions that I would observe as the McCain/Obama nomination and election process wore on.  Civil discussion among like-minded thinkers juxtaposed against the strained dialog of declarative and often inflammatory statements hurled at people with opposing views.

And so I am off.  A personal journey to listen to and understand different perspectives, and maybe, to discover if civil debate is alive and well in our democracy.