“SMUG”

Africa, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, China, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Humour/Opinion, John McCain, Robert Mugabe, Uncategorized, Zimbabwe

                                                              SMUG

 In life and in TV viewing I tend to drift in and out of jeopardy for periods of time.  While drifting into Jeopardy one recent evening I was only mildly surprised to find that Alex Trebek had not only “not lost” any of his smugness but in fact had gained some:  Smugness, as the keeper of all that is knowledge.  How dare you answer, “What is diminuendo?” when the correct response is so obviously, “What is a fade-out?”  “And you think you deserve to be on Jeopardy!?”  Yes Alex, we hear your thoughts.

 What is smug?  How do so few public figures display it?  How does one achieve it?

 It is rarely an envied quality.  Conrad Black appears smug.  If it were up to me he would do time for being smug.  Technically he already is, but I mean a specific sentence added to his prison time for the crime of smug, and perhaps served in an institution with men who don’t like it if you even look at them the wrong way.  They can smell smug a mile away.  That would cure his smugness, or at least put it in remission.

 Neither McCain nor Obama are smug, at least publicly.   Spin doctors and politicos exorcise it from them because voters won’t vote for it.  Exorcising smugness should be the media’s job, but guess what?  Media?  Smug!  Hillary Clinton had an air of smugness, and where is she?  Perhaps she learned it from Bill, or he from her, and we only saw his real smugness post-Whitehouse.  Al Gore, same thing.  Smug and green. 

 Advisors likely tell them that it is OK to be smug once in office.  And then again use it sparingly and with those of your own kind, or even the enemy, but not with the people of your nation.    

 So who is smug?  Mugabe?  Smugabe?  Perhaps, but he appears more evil than smug.  Dubya?  Tries to be but hasn’t got anything to back it up.  That requires knowledge, say like Trebek.  Putin was smug but you would never tell him because he didn’t like it if you looked at him the wrong way, consequently he could look any way he wanted. If any world leader should be smug, it’s Sarkozy.  He’s in his 50’s, kept his hair, stayed in shape, is leader of his nation, married a super model and to top it all, he’s French.  Everything about that says smug.  Yet somehow, Stephen Harper of Canada comes off smugger than him. 

 Many of us are only learning about China.  I sense a smugness, not of the people but of the government.  That’s Communism for you.  They are smug on their perfect system which shares all, except for smugness in which case it’s every man for himself.  In Beijing they think they can cure smog with smug.  The Olympics will tell. 

 Blair never appeared smug to me and Gordon Brown, well honestly I wouldn’t know Gordon Brown if he appeared in Oceans 13 next to Clooney with the credit, “Gordon Brown as himself”. 

 Somehow Clooney and Pitt aren’t smug.  Sean Penn, much smugiosisness.  Oprah is smug 3 out of 5 days per week, minimum.  Why does Ellen win all the daytime Emmys lately?  Minimal smugness. The Pope is smug, not when he says his red shoes are NOT Prada, but very smug when he talks about those things that are already divinely, heavenly and absolutely settled with no argument possible, such as abortion, homosexuality and women in the church.  The Pope should be cautious because smug, although not actually one of the 7 deadly sins, does border on a few of them.  Pride, lust, a touch of wrath, although mostly inner wrath in the form of contempt. (Again, see Alex Trebek).

 And don’t confuse smugness with arrogance, like Donald Trump.  Of course smug doesn’t work if you’ve already become a parody of yourself.

 Perhaps for many smug is a defense mechanism hiding insecurity, but that can be said for many things.  People are always over compensating with something to disguise the lack of something else.  So when you look for smug, make sure it’s the real thing.  The real Trebek/Conrad/Oprah/Pope smug.  Am I being smug in the writing of this article?  Maybe a little.  Just remember, you have to fight smug with smug.

S.M.U.G. could very well be one of those evil organizations that Maxwell Smart or the Man From U.N.C.L.E. constantly battle.  The Society for Malfeasance, Ugliness and Greed.  Of course it is not, but it lurks like one.

                                    ~ Larry Fedoruk

 Larry Fedoruk is a writer/broadcaster who lives in Toronto and hosts a daily afternoon talk show on 610 CKTB St. Catharines:  www.610cktb.com

admin @ July 3, 2008