Re: Daddy Issues

In “Daddy Issues,” Dennis Perrin wonders why we offer our presidents not merely obedience but also filial piety:

What is it that makes Americans feel a family connection to the presidency? Yes, we are indoctrinated from birth about our unique goodness, our special qualities; and yes, the president is viewed as the father figure of American righteousness. But how much intellectual or emotional energy does it take to step back from this scenario and see it for the fable it is? If history is any guide, apparently a lot.

…Why should we, who have no real political or economic power, who must rent our lives from those who do, feel such familial ties to the imperial manager? Over ninety-nine percent of those Americans who wept for JFK didn’t know the man, yet most behaved as if a loved one had been suddenly yanked from existence. This illustrates not only the strength of the national myth, but the eagerness of consumers to embrace it.

An independent, critical mind can, with enough practice and conditioning, resist such authoritarian impulses. But there is no reward for such thinking, and certainly no major market. Obedience to the master narrative is required to advance professionally, most especially in politics. For the rest of us, acceptance is expected but not really necessary. Our opinions matter only to the degree a demographic needs defining, or a voting bloc catered to. Beyond that, what we think or how we react to events like assassinations is our own miserable business. You might have cried for JFK, but he sure as fuck didn’t cry for you.

This reminded me of an interview with the creators of Family Guy, available on Hulu, where Seth MacFarlane reveals that their most controversial joke of all time mocked the Kennedy assassination:

Family Guy – Censored Jokes (video)

Apparently Family Guy can get away with making envelope-pushing jokes about race and sex, as well as characters who are rapists and pedophiles, but not with jokes about JFK.   Not even “feminine hygiene” is as offensive!  Which in turn reminds me of Rachel Simmons’ complaint that the nation was more outraged by Kanye West’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s award ceremony than, say, the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old in Richmond.  The message is clear:  don’t mess with the politico-celebrity class.  As Perrin notes, this rule is most rigorously enforced by the proles themselves.

Also see Gene Healy’s The Cult of the Presidency.  I’m also sure Arthur Silber has plenty to say about the dangerous implications of this phenomenon.