Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he isnât buying all that Democratic âjoyâ on display at this past weekâs Democratic National Convention in Chicago during a Sunday appearance with Jake Tapper on CNNâs State of the Union.
During their conversation, Tapper brought up the âdisciplinedâ and âwell-producedâ DNC this week that, as the journalist put it, âconveyed patriotism and unity.â Graham didnât see it that way.
âWell, I didnât see what you saw,â Graham told Tapper with a laugh. âIf youâre a Republican, you saw a hate fest. You saw a hate fest full of insults.â
âAmericans are not joyful when they go to the gas station and fill up their car,â he continued. âTheyâre not joyful when they make their mortgage payment. Theyâre not joyful when they go to the grocery store. People are hurting, and this whole joy love fest doesnât exist in the real world.â
To bolster his claim, Graham pointed to the gas prices, the state of the border, and inflation during Donald Trumpâs presidency when âthe world was not on fire.â
Heâs either lying or what he said gives us a look into his shitty perspective of the world. Either way such a miserable and pathetic existence.
Joy is not easy.
Happy can be had for the cost of a hobby, or of a friend buying another round, or jamming another game onto the screen.
But as J. D. Salinger said: âThe fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy is a liquid.â
Happiness needs a vessel of a certain shape and size.
Joy can fill up anything finite.
Donât mock Graham for this. He is expressing his sadness even if he doesnât see it. Express sorrow for his lack of understanding of our time here.
Joy is fleeting, but it is there, and it is possible to feel it with some frequency. Does everyone feel it? Well, obviously not.