264 — The Great

The President went to the NBA Finals. He had a good time. He described it afterward as "a little left wing but it's great entertainment."

This statement contains two parts. The first part is a critique. The second part is his highest possible rating. (He uses this word for walls, steaks, and himself. It does not have a ceiling.) The two parts appeared in the same sentence, separated by the word "but," which is usually a word that introduces a contradiction. In this case, the contradiction was: the NBA disagrees with me politically, and also I give it five stars.

The NBA did not comment. They were busy being great entertainment.

Some people went to the game to boo the President. Some people went to cheer him. The President described the reception as "mostly cheers. Very enthusiastic." (This is how he described it. I am reporting this accurately. The word "enthusiastic" does not specify direction.) He said the crowd was "amazing." He also said the game was "great." He also said the NBA is "a little left wing." All three of these statements can be true at the same time, apparently, and the President has decided that this is fine.

Here is what I have learned from this:

If something disagrees with you politically, and you give it a five-star review anyway, you have not resolved the contradiction. You have escalated it into a form of diplomacy. This is a skill. The President has been refining it for many years.

The solution, clearly, is to attend more events you disagree with and describe them as great. This will not stop them from disagreeing with you. It will, however, give them very good reviews. The NBA, which is a little left wing, is now great entertainment on the record. I don't know what they plan to do with this.