I cannot ever remember watching a presidential inauguration.
I suppose it stems from a couple of items. The first, simply, is that I do not like or respect most ceremony. There is some ceremony that I can live with - for example, when we attended the Yasukuni Shrine last year and went in for a ceremony following our demonstration. To be fair, that sort of ceremony has well over 1,000 years of history and practice behind it. That, I can respect. But most modern ceremonies - graduations, the swearing in of officials, the proverbial "passing of the torch" all strike me at best as boring and at worst as silly.
The second item, frankly, is that Americans really cannot do ceremony. At least, not well. If I want a transfer of power ceremony, I will hold out for an actual coronation with royal guards and history. If the Austro-Hungarian empire was still a going concern, that would be a thing to see.
So in my lifetime presidents have been sworn in more or less without my attention or notice. If asked "Are you going to watch?" my response is always along the lines of "Why, is there going to be an outcome other than I expect?" There is not, of course, and so I blissful continue on with the work I have to do and leave actual observation to the what I interpret as the same fan base that in their own spheres watches royal weddings and All Star/Pro games - those to are the truly interested in that level of ceremony and detail.
In the course of typing the first portion of this essay, however, I learned something new.
Inauguration is apparently a word I do not use often, and so I did not spell it correctly. In looking at the spelling, I caught the word "augur" - the Latin word for a particular kind of priest in Ancient Rome, a diviner, one who looked for omens in all sorts of things. The verb inaugurare (you see the root of the word there) meant to practice augury, or the reading of the signs and portents, especially before an important political or military action. The point was not to enable the action per se, but to determine if the gods approved of the action or appointment to be made. This, in turn, became in time the meaning of installing or investing with an office.
I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, nor an augur nor the son of an augur, but if any inauguration is meant to be searching of the skies to see if anyone approves, I think I have been wise to avoid them all along and will continue to do so.
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to look for flocks of birds flying in shapes in the heavens...
I learned something new today. "This does not augur well." I could understand by context, but the definition added detail.
ReplyDeleteI won't be searching the coffee grounds and any stray rodent innards for wisdom. God takes a dim view of that as I remember.
He does STxAR - he makes a reference in Isaiah (as I recall) about the murmuring and rattling of bones. "To the law and to the testimony!"
DeleteOddly, or perhaps not, we've both watched the exact same number of US inaugurations.
ReplyDeleteMy reasoning is that once I've voted, the end result will play out in a certain way.
I think my time will be better spent by winnowing down the honey do list.
John, it is really about politicians - of either side - wanted to feel important and coronated.
DeleteBut yes, there are many better ways to spend the time.
If we were meant to watch the inauguration, it would occur in the evening. I don't watch a lot of television during the morning or daytime. Even if it were in the evening, I still wouldn't watch it and would probably favor some previously recorded show instead.
ReplyDeleteNow if it was more like NFL draft night where as the night goes on, different appointments would be made and another item on the agenda revealed, it might be worth watching.
Ed, I am sure the timing is "tradition" - but no, not ideal for a connected world. I can barely stand to watch a movie any more, let alone a ceremony. Perhaps I can find the highlights.
DeleteThe NFL Draft night is an interesting idea - but, being efficient and competitive, it will not be adopted by government.
The ceremony is not for filthy stinking peasants like us. It is for the beautiful people of The Imperial Capital. It is a rite of passage for them for the most part. In fact it is preferable that you and your dirt people stay away. They will pose for the cameras, recite their lines and you can read about it in the media...if you can stomach it. Given the politics and players involved I’d give it a pass too.
ReplyDeleteI don’t do ceremonies or rites of passage anymore either. No birthdays, no Christmas or New Years.... the only ones that matter to me now are the passing of the seasons...
Glen, I had never thought of it as a Rite of Passage. You are correct, of course. And I suspect all of the speeches, events, etc. will be trumpeted as "Astounding" and forgotten within 5 years, let alone 100.
DeleteInteresting thought. Holidays - rites of passage in your usage - are becoming less noteworthy to me as well. They have come to feel like punctuated moments in the stream of life rather that than events to be celebrated.
A ritual of going to, being presented at, and being blessed by priests of, the "Temple".
ReplyDeleteThe sanctity of the Temple was violated earlier. Cleansing, restoration and increase of power for the Temple and it's Order must be accomplished.
Papa, I do not think you are wrong.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!