As we have previously noted, The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg is now a full-fledged member of McSweeney’s disciples, worshiping at the feet of Dave Eggers at 826Valencia. So it’s not that surprising to find the actor stumping for President Obama over at 90 Days, 90 Reasons, the McSweeney’s offshoot nonprofit which serves to “re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place.”
So why does Mr. Eisenberg think you should vote? Because he’s currently living in a yurt in Mongolia, that’s why.
It’s a short essay, but it reads like a college application, making it just shy of impossibly unbearable. Here is most of it:
I’m traveling through Mongolia and currently staying in a yurt. This was not by choice; I’m with persuasive friends. If it were up to me I’d never leave my apartment and, more specifically, the bedroom area. But my comforts have given me a nagging sense of discomfort. I think traveling and seeing how other people live, even if I’m not totally immersing myself, assuages some of my unease because it re-sensitizes me to the difficulties and existential inconveniences that most other people face. In this way, I think Barack Obama is a good leader for our diverse country because he’s seen how the world lives.
This essay raises several questions, not the least being, “How did Jesse Eisenberg get to Mongolia so quickly when he was just spotted and identified as Mark Zuckerberg at the London Olympics on Sunday?”
Also: Who has wifi in a yurt?
Also: What qualifies as an “existential inconvenience” in Mongolia, as opposed to an actual inconvenience, like steep drops in fertility, a straining economy and lowered life expectancy?
Also: Who is going to vote for President Obama again just because a jet-setting actor is currently yurt-sitting?
