A day of two
commemorations
Considering that I
seem to observe events, it would have been remiss not to have noticed
yesterday's activities; the unfortunate propinquity of Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, and the inauguration of an American president. It was
totally missable
(a word rarely used) and redolent of something to be disregarded.
If anything, it was
so totally predictable; someone undeserving of it was accorded the respect and
courtesy of being peacefully handed the reins of power that he stroppily
refused to do out of a total lack of decorum, at the last inauguration. I guess
this already sets the tone for how this blog will go. [The
Guardian: Trump says he won’t attend Biden’s inauguration]
The humour in a
travesty
As the event would
pervade the airwaves, it was impossible to ignore, I had a news blackout and
decided anything about it was best viewed through the prism of how the night
talk shows depict the events of the day. Like I have handled cancer with humour
rather than despair, this was to be seen through the prism of humour before
despondency sets in.
At the swearing-in,
which was to be hand on the Bibles held by his spouse, at least two talk shows
suggested, since the inauguration was moved indoors, the fire services had
refused the bibles be touched by the president to avoid a conflagration of the
Capitol. We could well assume either the person or the book would burst into
flames if they came in contact. Outside, the freezing cold might have
extinguished any point of ignition.
The silhouette figure
of his spouse cum black chapeau with a wide brim created an air gap to the
intended public intimacy between man and wife that did not escape the amusement
of a global audience. Many other things were said that require no repetition.
Barabbas of the modern age is quite different from the one gambled on by
Pontius Pilate who only had a history, this one will have a future that many
might view with trepidation.
Blog - Give us Barabbas!
Blog - It is well
with my soul
Winding back a
century in time?
The full
personification of felonious Barabbas came with the pardons granted to the mobs
involved in the invasion and insurrection at the Capitol on the 6th of January
2021.
A rash of Executive
Orders followed, and a new era of American exceptionalism and isolationism has
begun. Leaving the WHO and some predicated on the America First notion. Why it
has not reversed straight into the Prohibition
era of a century ago escapes me as that would be the Golden Age being
sought before it was snatched away by the Great Depression.
History will repeat itself as a risible farce and that is not a prophecy. [Wikipedia: Roaring
Twenties] [The
White House: Presidential Actions]
We shall not be moved
We in a broader sense
would refuse to be affected or impacted by the expected dysfunction of that
place, while adopting a perspective that should exhibit surprise and mirth. His
predecessor bought himself a life of peaceful retirement without regret by the
pre-emptive pardons of relations and others in the gunsights of a vengeful
kakistocracy.
Lest anyone be
deceived, the tech plutocrats of this incoming oligarchy had the front seats,
this will not be the government of the people, for the people, by the people,
but who wants to listen to the truth when the lies appeal so well to our basest
instincts?
Life will go on; most
of us survived the first time, as we, and Americans especially, forgot those
who did not, because of the heartless incompetence of managing the global
pandemic then. We have mostly climbed down the peak of Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs towards its base; which is why every similitude of
Barabbas in democracies worldwide is chosen over a better person. The day after
is a time for reflection and anticipation.
