THANKSGIVING 2024

Oscar Wilde suggested that there are only two tragedies in life. One being not getting what one wants and the other being getting it. This could as well be the perfect epitaph for today's America. Many are shell-, or better, Trump-shocked. The mood gets worse with each designation that comes out of Mar-a-Lago's gaudy theater of the absurd. The incoming administration covers an arc that goes from the pathetic (Marco Rubio) to the demonic (Sebastian Gorka). 

America is a democracy and Trump's victory is absolute. He gave the forgotten males an umbrella and promised to keep them safe from the godless, leftist, woke intellectuals who rule the coasts. This is surprising since the US economy is the envy of the world. It also proves Thomas Piketty right when he argues that capital return is stronger than the rate of economical growth. Obviously the voters didn't buy the assertion that the trading room is a weapon of financial destruction of the common man.

It is far too early to predict the outcome of this "coup". The awakened MAGA beast might be hard to get back into the cage of failed experiments. Unleashed it might create a havoc too few saw coming.

This Thanksgiving feels more absurd than ever. The parade in Manhattan will be at the same time festive in a Norman Rockwell way and somewhat frightening in a mad Disney way. Beverly Hills will look its usual empty, devoid of people and "normal "air to breathe. Some Americans feel solace in their current gloomy bestsellers, or better in Cabo where the brown people stay rather than emigrate.

The world will have to adjust to the uncomfortable seating arrangement during the long, four-year flight. The Asians will adjust, the Africans of sub-Sahara don't count but for some raw materials, the Middle East will skip the journey all together and the Europeans will suffer all Angsts in their cramped seats. The EU has already an economy on life-support and a defense out of a Plautus satire...ça promet.

John Updike said that America is a vast conspiracy to make one happy. Unfortunately the luxuries don't make up for the necessities.