There are similarities between what is going on now in the White House and what went on in past administrations that resemble what went on in Tolkien and Herbert's novels. The dynamic of those elites close to a leader betraying the followers and creating a disaster is relevant to all of us right now, regardless of where we find ourselves on the Nolan Chart!
I can remember comparing the dismal fate of George W. Bush's administration in 2008 to destroying Sauron's Ring at the end of Lord of the Rings. When I was called upon to say what came next for the U.S. using a Middle Earth metaphor, I decided that the relevant novel was not J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy but Frank Herbert's Dune! Obama was building a following around himself akin to Muad'Dib in Dune. I said at the time that these cults of personality don't sometimes disappoint, they always disappoint!
And predictably, as Muad'Dib proved himself an inept ruler and slave to sycophants, Obama's campaign of Hope, Change and Unity fell to the Machiavellian machinations that enslave both major parties. It was over as soon as Rahm Emanuel joined as Chief of Staff.
I've decided that Dune is not the proper metaphor anymore. I must go back to Lord of the Rings. Sauron has fallen but his daughter, Liz Cheney, remains on the talk show circuit trying to rescue his legacy by rewriting history, while Gollum survived the fall and remains on the faculty at UC Berkley teaching the next generation of domestic enemies of the Constitution. And ruling us, is a potentially great leader, Barack Obama, asleep and in as decrepit a state as Theoden of Rohan was. And by his side, spreading poison is his Wormtongue, Rahm Emanuel.
Arguing in the White House against the agenda the public sent Obama to Washington to implement, Mr. Emanuel has fought against closing Guantanamo Bay, trying terrorists in public courts (where they belong by the way-don't make martyrs out of terrorists, publicly try them! Everyone then sees what happens when you use violence to get your way, you get locked up for life!). Mr. Emanuel continues to prey on the fear of a Republican smear campaign that keeps the Health Care reform agenda timid and worthless despite there being a nation full of insurance company victims.
But if Obama could awaken himself out of his spell like Theoden of Rohan, there would be so much good that could be accomplished. We could have better protection from the white collar criminals who caused this economic mess. We could have Health Care that doesn't use getting sick as an excuse to bankrupt people. Domestic enemies of the Constitution like Bybee, Feith, Yoo and Dinh could be prosecuted as he promised in the campaign. Instead of freezing NASA's budget at this crucial time we could devote our resources to returning to the moon, mining the Helium3 that is abundant there, and converting our economy to one based on nuclear fusion aka clean energy! It would be as simple as changing the Pentagon's mission from protecting the fossil fuels of yesterday to claiming the fuel of tomorrow. An Obama/Theoden could give us a new New Deal, get paychecks in people's hands and get them spending again. (Granted he'd have to lead an anti-obstructionist charge against the 41 Uruk'Hai in the Senate. But such a campaign can be won. I say LET them filibuster and shut the government down during an election year. When that happened in the 90's the public turned against the Republican Congress.)
All if this and more are not even considered due to the words of Emanuel/Wormtongue in Obama/Theoden's ear.
But is there really all that much of a difference between Obama and Emanuel? Wasn't Obama's only job in the private sector being a lawyer for a Chicago slumlord? That never sounded like much of a socialist to me. When Obama recently compared the bonuses of bank executives to baseball players saying that he didn't "begrudge people wealth or success. That is part of the free market system", he showed the people who believed his speeches and campaigned for him in 2008 that they were out of luck when it came to reclaiming that tax money.
You didn't have to look further than the list of CEOs and CFOs for major corporations who were listed as major contributors to Obama for America. Major officers for Sotheby's (Michael L. Ainslie), Comcast (John R.Alchin), HBO (Chris Albrecht), Boeing (James A. Bell), Bergstrom Corporation (John F.Bergstrom), Motorola (Gregory Q. Brown), Goldman Sachs (Gary D. Cohn), Kindred Healthcare (Paul J. Diaz), Disney (Michael Eisner),Viacom (Thomas E Dooley), Morgan Stanley (Amelia C. Fawcett), and Lehman Brothers (Richard S. Fuld Jr.) were all donors to Obama for America. So were Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. And that's just a small part of the list.
I think you have to admit, that is one insidious socialist conspiracy!
And if all of those people and their candidate are socialists then it's fair to call the Pope a Muslim!
So maybe Obama/Theoden isn't quite the slave to Emanuel/Wormtongue as I'd like to think. That certainly makes more sense. Obama is no fool. He must have known during the primary that if you can't get the big donors like those mentioned above, you can't buy the ads to compete in any election much less win the Presidency. And of course they are going to expect something for their money.
I find this a truly evil part of our system. That the same machine in charge of lying to us regarding car dealership financing, unhealthy processed foods and $14 per month "free" credit reports must be appeased during all of our election cycles. They are the same people that make these campaign ads during election years. But, as much as I may despise this, that's how it is. Obama is certainly aware of this. If you can't raise the cash to compete in this arena, a victory in modern politics is not even a possibility. "Spread the Wealth Socialists" need not apply.
They'd be happy to back a rousing populist leader who stirs people to fight as did Theoden. As long as the agenda can be brought under a spell and managed by the Wormtongues of the D.C elites when all is said and done.
We see the same dynamic play itself out time and time again no matter whom the candidate or party is. George W. Bush's "Compassionate Conservatism" won the Republican party nomination in 2000 only to be short circuited immediately when he asked Dick Cheney to chose a Vice Presidential nominee. Clinton's brief window for change was cut short when he brought on board David Gergen, who saw to it that Clinton was little more than a Democratic stamp on a Republican Congress's agenda. And the same betrayal will inevitably happen to the Tea Party if they ever elect a national leader.
I said in 2008, that these cults of personality don't sometimes disappoint, they always disappoint! And I was proven right unfortunately.
In real life, it is never enough to dethrone Bush or Obama, or throw the One Ring into Mt. Doom, or lead the Fremen to overthrow Shaddam IV. It really doesn't do much. It can be the beginning of a new day only when the people are truly united and willing to show elites that there are more of us than there are of them!
No comments:
Post a Comment