Inaugurals Conventionally Start With A History Lesson

Sociology And Anthropology Are Not Disciplines Which Take Easily To Situations Where People Are Able To Live Out Their Fantasies, Not Just In The Symbolic Action Of Ritual, But In The Concrete Theater Of Society At Large.

The Only Book By A Modern President That Bears Serious Comparison With Obama's 'dreams From My Father' Is Jimmy Carter's Short Campaign Autobiography, 'why Not The Best?,' Published In 1975.

Seattle Is A Liberal City, Its Politics Not So Much Blue In The American, Not The British, Sense As Deep Ultramarine, And Its Manners Are Studiously Polite.

One Of The Oddest Features Of Western Christianized Culture Is Its Ready Acceptance Of The Myth Of The Stable Family And The Happy Marriage. We Have Been Taught To Accept The Myth Not As An Heroic Ideal, Something Good, Brave, And Nearly Impossible To Fulfil, But As The Very Fiber Of Normal Life. Given Most Families And Most Marriages, The Belief Seems Admirable But Foolhardily.

Inaugurals Conventionally Start With A History Lesson And Finish With A Prayer.