“A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of this town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in so my house is full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”- Luke 14:16-24
We have a modern, unfortunate example of the above parable. It is the uniformly negative reaction by performers to invitations to perform at the inauguration of the President of the United States. Some did it because of political differences with the President-Elect. Others, like the blind Italian tenor, Bocelli, accepted and later rejected an invitation after the liberals began a “BoycottBocelli” twitter site.
Do not make the mistake of portraying Donald Trump as the “certain man.” The people of the United States are the metaphorical master who proposes the feast. The feast is the inauguration of the elected citizen who will temporarily occupy the Executive position of our country. The insults, aimed at Donald Trump, are actually received by the American citizens who invest that office with honor, irrespective of its inhabitant. Conservatives did not disrespect the office when it was held by the opposition candidate, President Obama. During Obama’s tenure, I nowhere heard anyone say, “he is not MY President.”
It is not enough for these elitists to refuse an invitation; they receive snarky approval.
A further reflection of disrespect for the Executive office is the murmuring in the sports world that athletes will refuse to attend the traditional visit to the White House for recognition of their respective championships.
The Parable goes on to indicate that the feast will be enjoyed by the local society of non-elite people. We are advised, in the media, that the inaugural committee has invited military and First responder (Fire, Law Enforcement, EMT) personnel.
As one who honors the office of the Presidency, I find this preferable to Hollywood and the athletes who blithely disrespect both our traditions and the people who voted for President-elect Trump. Though Hillary was defeated, we conservatives remain in the Deplorables basket in the estimation of these perfumed and pampered narcissists.
Hollywood seems to think that their inclusion in the festivities is of longstanding and that a presidential inauguration without them is like a day without sunshine. More like a pigpen without manure. The inclusion of individual performers at the inauguration festivities is a relatively new phenomenon in the history of this nation. With the exception of Mickey Rooney at a Roosevelt inauguration, Frank Sinatra at Kennedy’s, and Ethel Merman at a Reagan inauguration, the performers at Presidential inaugurations were choirs, bands, or opera singers until the festivities extended to include concerts.
My advice to those who are in the Deplorable basket with me is that you take note of those who have refused invitations, along with those who disparaged our candidate during the campaign. You can send an economic message by withdrawing your financial support of their movies, concerts, and music discs.
Look at it this way: they look down on you and find you contemptible. Why subsidize their already overindulgent lives? Right now, it takes no courage at all for them to embrace that which conservatives view as an unpatriotic position.
The National Football League is suffering a huge loss in TV viewership. Their surveys refuse to identify the insult to the National Anthem as a significant cause for this financial issue. These must be the same pollsters who never saw the Trump election coming. Perhaps it is time for Hollywood to suffer the same financial consequences of their actions.
Hollywood’s inclusion at a Presidential inaugural celebration is a little like a feast with only dessert. It is enjoyable but has no nutritional value. More importantly, a feast without dessert is still a feast.
