Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The Final Solution: Sound and Fury



CNN has been promoting their Nixon documentary with the following quote from the 37th President, “Others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself." It’s a locution that might be more expected from Kierkegaard than the disgraced politician who’d resigned in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. Nixon had no monopoly on unscrupulousness, but this was venality of an almost Shakespearean proportion and sounds like something more likely to be described by a poetic construction like Iago than a real person. They don’t make villains the way they used to. The recent Twitter storms from Trump just don’t hack it. Here is what the President had to say at 8:23AM on March 17. “Report: Christopher Steele backed up his Democrat & Crooked Hillary paid for Fake & Unverified Dossier with information he got from 'send in watchers' of low rating CNN. This is the info that got us the Witch Hunt!” Of course Twitter only allows 280 characters. Perhaps it’s unfair to be harsh on these flourishes. Imagine Jaques famed “Seven Ages” speech from As You Like It formatted for social media: “World’s a stage, men women players, exits entrances, last scene oblivion, no eyes, teeth, etc.” What’s missing of course is the eloquence. It’s venom and vitriol without soul. Imagine Macbeth’s “it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing,” in Trump’s hands. Can’t you just hear him saying about the Democrats, “they’re all idiots who make no sense.”


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.