(Title from the witches scene in Macbeth)
I am re-reading the eighteen sea novels in the Aubrey-Maturin series by the truly incomparable Patrick O’Brian, novels deemed by one NYT critic as “the best historical novels ever written,” and flooded with superlatives and accolades from dozens of other reviewers. The prose is simply beyond compare; the characters are developed to the finest pitch; the plots are multifaceted, adventurous, and gripping. I am in the second novel now, Post Captain, and there is a passage in which Captain Aubrey, who is hated by Admiral Harte, refers to the latter as combining “ignorance and malice.” That got me to thinking of friends of democracy’s favorite whipping boy—how easily my mind drifts there—“the most dangerous American who has ever lived” according to John McCain’s former campaign manager Steve Schmidt. Ignorance and malice—dangerous enough when present separately, yet far more so when combined. But when the two are aligned with the power to exercise authority, the danger is immensely magnified, and a deadly storm is in the offing. Truly, something wicked this way comes. For my friends and relatives who will vote for Trump, all I could say—much of which I have said elsewhere on this forum—can be reduced to its lowest terms: In a second Trump presidency, very corrupt and despotic things will happen, our country and our democracy will be severely imperiled and degraded, Russia and China will rise, the world itself will be a lit fuse. You will, if you are honest with yourself, eventually regret your vote—perhaps even feel shame; possibly even fear.
This election, more than any other ever, will be the ultimate test of national character. Whatever the outcome of the popular vote, that is who we are. We are predominantly either a people whose values are allied with a core of honor and decency, or we are a people whose values are allied with a core of rot and sickness. We are not “the greatest generation.” But we are in danger, knowing what we know, of being the worst.
John Rachal's Blog
Something Wicked This Way Comes
February 17, 2024 at 10:35 pm (Political Commentary)
(Title from the witches scene in Macbeth)
I am re-reading the eighteen sea novels in the Aubrey-Maturin series by the truly incomparable Patrick O’Brian, novels deemed by one NYT critic as “the best historical novels ever written,” and flooded with superlatives and accolades from dozens of other reviewers. The prose is simply beyond compare; the characters are developed to the finest pitch; the plots are multifaceted, adventurous, and gripping. I am in the second novel now, Post Captain, and there is a passage in which Captain Aubrey, who is hated by Admiral Harte, refers to the latter as combining “ignorance and malice.” That got me to thinking of friends of democracy’s favorite whipping boy—how easily my mind drifts there—“the most dangerous American who has ever lived” according to John McCain’s former campaign manager Steve Schmidt. Ignorance and malice—dangerous enough when present separately, yet far more so when combined. But when the two are aligned with the power to exercise authority, the danger is immensely magnified, and a deadly storm is in the offing. Truly, something wicked this way comes. For my friends and relatives who will vote for Trump, all I could say—much of which I have said elsewhere on this forum—can be reduced to its lowest terms: In a second Trump presidency, very corrupt and despotic things will happen, our country and our democracy will be severely imperiled and degraded, Russia and China will rise, the world itself will be a lit fuse. You will, if you are honest with yourself, eventually regret your vote—perhaps even feel shame; possibly even fear.
This election, more than any other ever, will be the ultimate test of national character. Whatever the outcome of the popular vote, that is who we are. We are predominantly either a people whose values are allied with a core of honor and decency, or we are a people whose values are allied with a core of rot and sickness. We are not “the greatest generation.” But we are in danger, knowing what we know, of being the worst.
Leave a Comment