A ROUND OF THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE

If this happens without it being contrived it can really be electrifying. And even when it is forced in some way if we don’t know it we can still think it is great.

Applause is by itself it one of those traditions that we can do out of politeness or honest appreciation. I’m not sure whether it matters in that sense if it deserved, it is just something we do in so many occasions such as when somebody gives a graduation speech. The speech might have sucked, but you won’t be able to tell from the clapping of hands.

I’ve been pondering the hypocrisy of such behavior. We’ll applaud some event or person out of politeness for giving a speech, but in other situations we won’t hesitate to verbally trash them. Does this really make much sense? I doubt it would to someone visiting who didn’t know our customs either.

I think the message that would end up being communicated is how if you express you appreciation with you hands it is a positive thing. However, if you do it with your lips, it doesn’t have to be so.

Is that somehow supposed to convey the idea that the lips are more fickle than the hands? Or simply that we can talk to another person and say what we want or really think whereas if we clap it is generally in a crowd. I don’t know about you, but I have feeling if we saw somebody standing around and clapping alone we wouldn’t think the person was necessarily sane.

So what that all comes down to me is that words are more inclined to say what we really think than our hands. I didn’t say it was necessarily a good thing, merely that it seems to be the nature of our behavior.

What does that all mean, we are basically a bunch of backstabbing, lying, two-faced jerks who love to look good. Sound kind of harsh. It might be if I was attempting to ridicule the process.

Instead I want to celebrate it. Yep, we could worry about how it all is dumb and stupid and contradictory. We could stop and change our ways.

But nope that just isn’t our style. It just won’t fit into our love of having a good time and letting our traditions roll along without explanation. And regardless of what happens, no matter how often somebody points out the insanity of it all, we continue to clap and gossip.

All I can say, is keep it up folks. As long as there are people with hands. As long the tongue still exists in the head then we can expect to rejoice that we don’t have to make what we do actually make any sense.

That for me as a politician is what I consider as a form of job security. I can live with that whether using my hands or tongue.