Last week on his show, Bill Maher shared his hopes and dreams for a post-election America …
"No matter which side wins on Tuesday, let's skip the civil war and go right to reconciliation. America is a family. The definition of family is people who hate each other without resorting to violence."
He's now followed up those sentiments with an appeal for America to just look to the enduring love of Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton for inspiration to bridge the vast political divide.
"Now that the engagement of Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton is instagram official, they must hurry up and do it and stay married! For the good of the nation! Because if there is one thing America needs right now, it is a symbol of reconciliation between red and blue America."
Maher, in his own irreverently sarcastic style, says he was "shook to [his] core" by recent tabloid rumors that the couple was on the rocks because of their strong political differences.
"Of course they voted for different people," he said. "She's Whole Foods, he's Piggly Wiggly. She grew up playing punk, he grew up hunting skunk."
Yes, Maher finds their romance nothing short of a Shakespearean metaphor for everything that's both wrong AND potentially right about America:
"Just the fact that they're together is almost Shakespearean, 'Rodeo and Juliet,' but they make it work because they see each other as more than just who they voted for … And they say, 'Yes, we're different but that's also more fun and we're going to make that work for us.' They see the world differently and they love each other. What a concept!"
Maher goes on …
"I'd like to try it in America because that's how I feel about my country! You complete me, Alabama."
If one can get past Maher's not so subtle condescension of Blake's good ol' boy America, he might have a point. While it makes for good comedy, in real life, though, it might be hard for red and blue to embrace in everlasting love while they are still so sanctimoniously and stereotypically characterized as sophisticated Whole Foods vs red neck Piggly Wiggly.
So Shakespearean literature might not have been the best metaphor. I mean, Shakespeare wrote tragedy, after all.
Just sayin'.
