Prior to the Superbowl halftime show, MAGA critics were shouting that a Hispanic performer was a divisive influence. “Why didn’t the NFL choose someone who spoke English?” An article in the Atlantic states that MAGA voices attacked the “crazy” decision by the “woke” NFL to book someone who’s not “a unifying entertainer.”
It turned out that Bad Bunny staged an exuberant, positive show, full of joy and happiness, as he emphasized not only the unity of the United States, but the unity of all ‘American’ nations in the two Americas. The 127 million viewers came away feeling pumped up.
On the other hand, the opposition halftime show, with only 5 million viewers, was a bit of a bore. Its featured artist, Kid Rock, did not inspire unity.
Kid Rock (not even from the USA) is not a unifying figure.
We knew Trump would write something nasty about the show. The real reason for his angry response was that, for once, Trump wasn’t the center of attention. Trump has to make everything about HIMSELF.
Bad Bunny’s positive show was a rare island of feel-goodism in a sea of American gloom. Everything in the news these days is negative, from ICE murders to record job losses, from Trump’s constant anger to the horrific Epstein files.
A recent Economist/Yougov poll about the direction of the country showed a negative-to-positive result of 33-61, a spread of -28.
Studies reported in Fortune show that the long-term gloom is even worse. The most recent measures show that while current life satisfaction has declined over the last decade, future optimism has dropped even more.
“While current life is eroding, it’s that optimism for the future that has eroded almost twice as much over the course of about that last 10 years or so.”
That’s why Bad Bunny’s show was such a light in the darkness for millions of Americans. Give him credit for not dwelling on the negatives. He could have badmouthed Trump, bemoaned the economy, or brought up Trump’s misadventures in Venezuela, Greenland, etc. That’s what many people expected, but he didn’t take the bait.
Maybe this show will be a first step towards a more positive attitude, not just about the future of the US, but about the unity of all the diverse peoples in the Americas.