Relax and Rejoice

If someone said these words to you – “Relax! Rejoice!”—you’d think a religious conversion is about to take place. Maybe Nader sees himself as a prophet, a spiritual healer. Why else address democratic constituents in this way? (These, in fact, were Nader’s words, cited in virtually every news source today.)

Relaxation rarely comes as a result of a command. It takes practice: breathe in, breathe out. Rejoicing is even more tricky. In Nader’s case, is it a resigned command, signaling the futility of life, as in “rejoice, you have no choice.” Or, is “rejoice” meant to guide us to happiness in spite of adversity? Sort of in the spirit of “don’t worry, be happy” as sung by Bobby McFerrin? Do you remember the lyrics? The song is, I believe, out of the 80s, which makes it considerably older than Nader’s nadir, but it is very Nader-esque:

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy!

It’s the kind of song I imagine you’d sing where someone is passing around things you’d sniff or injest in odd and not necessarily legal ways, or in Poland – in the course of passing around bottle number 37 of Wodka Wyborowa.

Well, I suppose that’s right. Four more years of cataclysmic governance…. Don’t worry…(pass the bottle) be happy (one more time)…