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The funeral pageantry and tributes to the late Jimmy Carter seemed a tad contrived, as if America's political establishment
was trying its best to project an image of national unity and reverential soul - at a time when the country is irrevocably, bitterly divided and its institutions are tarnished beyond redemption.
Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29 - the longest-lived U.S. president in history - and was given a state funeral on January 9 in the National Cathedral in Washington. A national day of mourning was declared, and flags flew at half mast on public buildings.
The drawn-out funeral arrangement seemed to give the media endless scope for nostalgia about a humble peanut farmer who became president for one term between 1977 and 1981. The rose-tinted view of Carter's legacy harked to a time of supposed decency and bipartisan civility in American politics.
The contrast with the present partisan enmity in U.S. politics could not be sharper. The contempt between Democrats and Republicans could not be more vicious.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. He takes over from Democrat Joe Biden.
The vaunted peaceful transfer of power is a charade. During the election campaign last year, Biden repeatedly called Trump the "biggest threat to our democracy." This was a reference to Trump's demagoguery and fascist proclivities.
Yet, at the funeral for Carter, Trump was seated beside former Democrat President Barack Obama, chatting and smiling before the service. Also sitting in the front rows were Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the election to Trump - despite her condemnations also lambasting Trump as a threat to democracy.
Comment: We have no concept of how adept surveillance is to monitor minds via matter. It's whatever they say it is or isn't.