This past Tuesday I too watched El Presidente do his thing on TV. Although I must say I am a bit surprised he did not mess up the words too much, the content of the speech was boring. Really, really boring. Who knows - maybe he wrote it himself...
In any case, we all knew he would talk about the war, oil, energy, immigration etc. He did go over these issues, with a flowery rhetoric that used and abused of terms such as evil, freedom, security, hopeful society, research and the like.
As usual, I was interested in what he had to say to Americans about American life. And here is some of it:
In any case, we all knew he would talk about the war, oil, energy, immigration etc. He did go over these issues, with a flowery rhetoric that used and abused of terms such as evil, freedom, security, hopeful society, research and the like.
As usual, I was interested in what he had to say to Americans about American life. And here is some of it:
"Yet many Americans, especially parents, still have deep concerns about the direction of our culture and the health of our most basic institutions. They are concerned about unethical conduct by public officials and discouraged by activist courts that try to redefine marriage. (..) As we look at these challenges, we must never give in to the belief that America is in decline or that our culture is doomed to unravel. The American people know better than that. We have proven the pessimists wrong before, and we will do it again."
This part of the speech reminds me of a few cartoons I came across recently about El Presidente and his bubble - here is one of them:
The way he spoke, it sounds as if the American society were borderline in danger of extinction. Imagine, to dare and redefine marriage... The funny thing is that the premise behind same-sex marriage is all about marriage as we know it. Meaning, these are people who are in love, who are willing to compromise and commit, and who would like to have their relationship recognized by law and society. It is not like same-sex relationships will stop happening anytime soon... So we might as well recognize them. Furthermore, how exactly is that going to doom American society?
In my view, American culture is evidently "doomed to unravel" when Americans manage to elect a president like El Presidente twice. I mean, if my memory serves me right, he barely won the first time (unless one counts the Supreme Court 5-4 vote on the Florida ballot recount controversy as one's own)... And then surprise! He wins again! But wait, who put him in the White House the second time around?
So as I see it, that bit about the state of American society and marriage is very revealing of El Presidente's current state of disconnect. Maybe he is oblivious to the fact that while he is talking, the Commonwealth of Massachussetts recognizes same-sex marriages, 7 other states have already granted some sort of rights to same-sex civil unions, and 9 more are considering the possibility.
And still while he is talking, the controversial movie Brokeback Mountain stands to win at least a few of the 8 Academy Awards nominations it received, after having already won other influential prizes such as Golden Globes, the Golden Lion (Venice) and so forth. If anything, it is quite obvious that this "deeply concerned" American society is at least ready for a discussion on the issue. Oh and the discussion should happen on the other side of the bubble, that is, out here.
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