And that smile everyone gives you as they pass,
that friendly contraction of the jaws
triggered by human warmth.
It is the eternal smile of communication,
the smile through which the child becomes aware
of the presence of the others.
It is the equivalent of the primal scream of man alone in the world.

Whether I am right to say this or not,
they certainly do smile at you here,
though neither from courtesy, nor from an effort to charm.
This smile signifies only the need to smile.
It is a bit like the Cheshire Cat’s grin:
it continues to float on faces long after
all emotion has disappeared.
A smile available at any moment,
but half-scared to exist, to give itself away.
No ulterior motive lurks behind it,
but it keeps you at a distance..

It is part of the general cryogenization of emotions.
It is, indeed, the smile the dead man
will wear in his funeral home,
as he clings to hope of maintaining contact
even in the next world.
The smile of immunity, the smile of advertising:
‘This country is good. I am good. We are the best.’

It is also Reagan’s smile – the culmination of the self-satisfaction
of the entire American nation –
which is on the way to becoming the sole principle of government.
an auto-prophetic smile,
like all signs in advertising.
Smile and others will smile back.
Smile to show how transparent, how candid you are.
Smile if you have nothing to say.
Most of all, do not hide the fact you have nothing to say
nor your total indifference to others.
Let this emptiness, this profound indifference
shine out spontaneously in your smile.
Give your emptiness and indifference to others,
light up your face with the zero degree of joy and pleasure,
smile, smile, smile….

Americans have no identity,
but they do have wonderful teeth.

Excerpt America by Jean Baudrillard p. 34

It is increasingly difficult to keep smiling.  The mornings news feed brought a statement by the CDC director Robert Redfield that coronavirus has “brought this nation to its knees” .   This winter a second wave of coronavirus illness is expected to hit along with the seasonal flu virus.

The smile, is so natural, and such a social lubricant when with a cluster of friends on a sunny day, having beers on the patio of your favorite watering hole.  And a disconnect from reality.  “Smile and the whole world smiles with you.”  The smile is a reflex, a social reflex.

Baudrillard is observant, a trained sociologist.  An infant learns to smile, very early on in the first few weeks of life.  The smile is acknowledgement of others.  As Baudrillard puts it, the smile is equivalent, the reverse sign of the primal scream.  Yes, we smile at another smiling face.  But, I know, know deeply and assuredly that I exist alone, and no one can possibly know the meaning of my life, except me.  The empathy of others goes only so far.

Politicians have rode the smile reflex to power.  Reagan is mentioned.

Smile if you have nothing to say.  Most of all, do not hide the fact you have nothing to say nor your total indifference to others.  Let this emptiness, this profound indifference shine out spontaneously in your smile.

Another politician once more is attempting this old “slight of hand” to gain a second term in the White House.

Can we dismiss the smiles; can we listen, really listen to one another?