Yesterday I ventured to air praise for many aspects of the President's address and the inauguration as a whole. Today is the time for reckoning. After an overdose of religious, poetic, folksy incantations it is high noon for returning to more secular observations and some irony.
Mrs. Obama snubbed the House Speaker (who looked more miserable than ever, albeit without his trademark tears) in non-ambiguous fashion during the luncheon in the Capitol. True, she compensated (?) the day after by greeting, together with the President, tourists ("props" always do well in photo opportunities) visiting the White House. The youngest of the President's daughters looked distracted or bored by the whole thing and the Republicans were deprived of any modest olive branch like children who do not get their apple pie (we are still in America.) Only Beyonce managed to reinvent herself (again) and had more class than anybody on that podium, packed with bundles (a Romney touch) of frozen, disgruntled dignitaries. At times one could forget being in a political drama and wake up in some bizarre religious cult. Continental "socialist" Europeans get totally lost in this "mystery play."
To recover from my time spent amongst the angels I found solace in watching a new episode of "Family Guy." Seth MacFarlane has created the most refreshing, politically incorrect series which is a healthy, innovative antidote against a Zeitgeist wherein creative, innovative thoughts are sent into exile. The heroes of this iconoclastic cartoon dare to leave no corners of our contemporary sick psyche unattended. Brian, the dog, is the Delphic oracle which curses indifferently the ailments, the psychotic dysfunctions of contemporary life. Family is hell, prejudice rules under the guise of sickening corporatism and goodness is reserved for the ones who have the guts to be impious in this land of free-shooting for all. Hyperbole and exaggeration can be therapeutic at a time when society seems to be sinking in a swamp of repetitive mediocrity. The weather forecast is fast becoming the only original input to watch, while cable and the original "funeral homes" of the likes of CBS, NBC and Co, deliver their daily banal "specials of the day," uttered by delusive cynical anchors.
The President's inauguration was grand, if one likes this type of rather hypocritical slag fest. The participants are awake by now and business as usual will override yesterday's lofty, pompous references. We, the People, are left with a choice between legitimate Angst for what tomorrow will bring and a session of psychiatric analysis brought to you by Family Guy. I realize that a moment of sheer cartoon madness only brings temporary relief but so does anesthesia during surgery and rest during post-operative recuperation. The "American patient" deserves it, and the (gun) show will go on nevertheless.
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