The State of the Union Pageant

Let's face it. The State of the Union speech really looks more like an annual pageant. The words and topics of the speech have only symbolic meaning, not real meaning. How many times has the State of the Union speech reflected what really happens later in the year. The ritual of the President's entrance, the obligatory standing ovation, the seating of the Cabinet, the nod from the First Lady, blah, blah, blah, just prove that what we see has little meaning beyond the symbolic. The pageant serves more as a secular rite than a real speech. Don't expect much of substance tonight.

Imagine a wedding. All the parties have a role and even a place to stand. The two families sit on different sides of the central aisle. The mothers of the two betrothed have special places to sit. The bride enters to an anthem, the father of the bride performs a short ritual speech, the couple recite fairly standard phrases, and holy man blesses the union, then the couple exits to an anthem. Sounds a lot like the State of the Union doesn't it? How do a wedding and the State of the Union differ? Well, for one thing, a wedding ritualizes the couple's love for one another. Whereas, the State of the Union just congratulates the powerful.