There is always entertainment value in the absurd. Ripley’s Believe it or Not, circus side shows, P.T. Barnum, YouTube are just a few of the exploiters of this phenomena. We as humans seem to like our oddities. Knowing this can explain a lot of what has been passing as political news over the last several months.
Everyone believes there must be a reason, but we are just not smart enough to see it. Whether you stand above the fray or are immersed deep within it, you must admit the entertainment value is huge. HUGE. The nightly news has become something akin to a serialized situation comedy. Were it not so real, I might even find it a tad funny.
Reason and understanding must be considered with a different perspective when confronted by the latest delegate count. There is mathematics at work in principle, but it just doesn’t add up like once upon a time. One plus one is not supposed to equal “Oh My God!”
As the saying goes, we are only human – stuck by our biology in this plane of existence until death. And some have expressed death as a viable alternative to whatever might happen come November.
A second alternative involves the hope that Canada keeps its border open. It is all very odd indeed, like watching in slow motion some disaster approaching from which there is no escape. The Titanic comes to mind, and the life boat situation is pretty much the same.
Blame it on me. If only I had switched parties and voted for one of the losers, maybe they would have been the winner and this business would have been put to rest weeks ago.
Perhaps if everyone had done that back when we had our chance in February, June would be looking brighter. The only balm is the knowledge that since 1992 no one who won the New Hampshire primary has gone on to be elected president (incumbents excepted). That doesn’t say much for our influence in the process, but man, let’s hope it holds true for one more election cycle.
Now there are bigger concerns, like that oddity thing.
There is danger lurking for sure. Because with time, oddities start to look less odd. As choices narrow, rationalizing begins to seep in.
The odd, the absurd, maybe even the offensive, all start to become acceptable. “Nevers” that we once held onto firmly begin to fade.
I don’t mean to be a downer here; I’m just trying to find some measure of clarity, maybe even a little hope, in a cloudy, foggy, hazy reality that has become future.
I wonder how this moment will read to the kids studying U.S. history 30 or 40 years from now. Will they finally be able to accurately assess what the heck is happening? And will they hate us for it or be thankful? Who will have been the heroes and what will they have done to earn the distinction?
At the moment, it all seems so removed from the simple pleasures that enrich a life, that bring joy and discovery. And isn’t that what we all really want? Just to go about our lives and make things better for those we love and those around us?
Nothing odd about that.
In some measure that is what elections are supposed to reflect. We cast our vote for the one we feel will best allow us an avenue of safety and opportunity. Life goes on, and we are happy. It doesn’t matter who is elected as long the ability to take a vacation, buy a gun or watch television isn’t disrupted.
The problem may come when the election process is driven by entertainment value rather than the merits of a candidate.
Right now, the greatest president ever may be working her (oops, do I mean “his”?) way through to the nomination. Or maybe the worst is what we are headed for.
Clearly, to avoid the latter, vigilance is required. Don’t let the entertainment obscure the reality. Because by now everyone should know, reality television is not always reality.
What next? Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed. The three-headed cow will explain it all while the Wallendas string a wire across the gap between what was and what is. Now that will be worth watching.
(John Gfroerer of Concord owns a video production company based at the Capitol Center for the Arts.)