A banana republic is one metaphor thatβs entertaining but a far better metaphor for the Trump saga is Moby Dick.
Trump in real life perfectly emblemizes the behemoth that is the white whale. Like Moby Dick, Trump is larger than life, heβs ungovernable, he wonβt be tamed, he exists outside of nature (with nature in this case being traditional political norms) and, to the endless chagrin of his detractors, he characterizes the unrelenting and justifiable fury of those he claims to represent.
Ahab, monomaniacal and obsessed as he is, could not represent more perfectly the ravings of American elites; the Democrats, the establishment republicans, the press, the globalists, the punditocracy, academia and the bureaucratic courtesans who loyally serve their betters. Moby Dick robbed Ahab of his leg; Trump never robbed Americaβs venal elite of anything. But Ahabβs pursuit of Moby Dick wasnβt about revenge for a leg; to Ahab, the whales existence was intolerable because Moby Dickβs existence negated his own. To Democrats and their fellow travelers in hatred, the mere existence of Trump is a virtually identical existential challenge.
So, like Ahab, our elites pursue their prey; from impeachment to impeachment, from grand jury to grand jury, from inquisition to inquisition. Their credo comes straight out of the Stalin era, βShow me the man and I will show you the crime.β Never stopping, even for a moment, to reflect on whether the source of their obsessive preoccupation might be the rot in their own souls.
As for the rest of us, weβre like the crew of the Pequod, free to observe the unfolding yarn but apparently powerless to play a major role in shaping it.
My favorite scene in Moby Dick is Chapter 9 where Father Mapple ascends a rope ladder to the pulpit in his church to preach the story of Jonah. Do yourself a favor and re-read it.
The story is about vanity. Disobeying God to follow his own lights, Jonah searches for a place where he will be free from Godβs scrutiny. Of course, there is no redemption for Jonah until he acquiesces to the words uttered by Father Mapple.
βAnd if we obey god, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
The vanity and wickedness of American elites will destroy them and may destroy our country in the process. They are desperately in need of redemption but like Ahab, hatred fills the spot where their soul would more properly reside.
Brilliant edition, as usual. It feeds my infovore traits all too well ππ
A banana republic is one metaphor thatβs entertaining but a far better metaphor for the Trump saga is Moby Dick.
Trump in real life perfectly emblemizes the behemoth that is the white whale. Like Moby Dick, Trump is larger than life, heβs ungovernable, he wonβt be tamed, he exists outside of nature (with nature in this case being traditional political norms) and, to the endless chagrin of his detractors, he characterizes the unrelenting and justifiable fury of those he claims to represent.
Ahab, monomaniacal and obsessed as he is, could not represent more perfectly the ravings of American elites; the Democrats, the establishment republicans, the press, the globalists, the punditocracy, academia and the bureaucratic courtesans who loyally serve their betters. Moby Dick robbed Ahab of his leg; Trump never robbed Americaβs venal elite of anything. But Ahabβs pursuit of Moby Dick wasnβt about revenge for a leg; to Ahab, the whales existence was intolerable because Moby Dickβs existence negated his own. To Democrats and their fellow travelers in hatred, the mere existence of Trump is a virtually identical existential challenge.
So, like Ahab, our elites pursue their prey; from impeachment to impeachment, from grand jury to grand jury, from inquisition to inquisition. Their credo comes straight out of the Stalin era, βShow me the man and I will show you the crime.β Never stopping, even for a moment, to reflect on whether the source of their obsessive preoccupation might be the rot in their own souls.
As for the rest of us, weβre like the crew of the Pequod, free to observe the unfolding yarn but apparently powerless to play a major role in shaping it.
My favorite scene in Moby Dick is Chapter 9 where Father Mapple ascends a rope ladder to the pulpit in his church to preach the story of Jonah. Do yourself a favor and re-read it.
http://www.melville.org/diCurcio/9.htm
The story is about vanity. Disobeying God to follow his own lights, Jonah searches for a place where he will be free from Godβs scrutiny. Of course, there is no redemption for Jonah until he acquiesces to the words uttered by Father Mapple.
βAnd if we obey god, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
The vanity and wickedness of American elites will destroy them and may destroy our country in the process. They are desperately in need of redemption but like Ahab, hatred fills the spot where their soul would more properly reside.
Anyone who believes trenches are obsolete has never been shot at.
Not 12 tons
12,000 tons