Gigi Hadid's impersonation of Melania Trump might be good enough to pass up as a satire, Fred pointed out. I looked at my housemate, wondering if Math majors don't have many deadlines during this time of the year. Donald Trump has yet to move to the White House, but his stunning victory would seem to create a maelstrom. Everyone here was surprised at how America was so divided. And how the result would affect the other side of the Atlantic.
Mom wasn't disturbed at recent events, insisting that this was a natural reaction to polemic figures. She was a huge of Murphy Brown, a fictional TV character. Her unconventional lifestyle drew a large number of TV viewers, even prompting then vice-president Dan Quayle to criticize her supposedly lack of family values. My mother figured that it happened during a troubled time. (Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and how the American-led coalition of Western nations responded to it. Pundits struggling to deconstruct the pop-culture crazed nation called America. A fundamental lesson in spelling.) Donald Trump was flesh and blood, I told her. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hollywood, long-time supporters of the Democratic Party, clashing against Trump. The recent incident involving Vice President-elect President Mike Pence and "Hamilton" star Brandon Victor Dixon might be a portent of disturbing things to come. And then Gail, my sister, popped a question. Did the Founding Fathers sang at all? Mom couldn't recall "1776".
Jonathan Swift: The Accidental Satirist
Professor Stone was glad to know that I still recalled "Gulliver's Travels". I argued that Lemuel's Gulliver's trips would pertain to the chain of events that turned Europe upside down (during the 18th century), and she remarked that I had a point. She pointed out that I missed Swift's background. It was a time of picking sides, and Swift was torn between England and Ireland. (The author was born to English parents in Ireland.) Furthermore, he couldn't keep his mouth shut when it mattered the most. It didn't mean that Swift led a troubled life, as there were too many things to keep both nations worried through the years. But Gulliver's journeys pricked the conscience of the readers. Both England and Ireland would share a strange sense of humor, very aware of how their isolationist stance influenced the course of events.
The professor didn't want to compare "Gulliver's Travels" to Alec Baldwin's skit in "SNL", but it won't be long before more artists would follow suit. Many won't detect a satire, even thinking that this could be one way to cool off. And it turned out that these voters decided the outcome of the election. She smiled at me after I wondered if this would be another cycle. There was nothing to worry at all, but her smile perplexed me.
I figured that Americans would need satire more than ever. The news painted a discouraging picture of the immediate future, as mistrust became an issue. Either viewers wised up or they would categorize celebrities as Hillary Clinton supporters. And a handful subscribed to the New Yorker. Intelligence could be another thing, and it won't be something that could be planted and harvested after a season or two. I noticed the gray sky. It was colder than last week. It might be my imagination or I saw a snow flake.
