“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What's grownups going to think? . . . He can’t hurt you: but if you stand out of the way he’d hurt the next thing.”Piggy, in The Lord of the Flies
GOP voters support a bold, swashbuckling man of action who breaks rules.
Trump has been open about his plans for a second term. His Agenda47 will replace the roadblocks to presidential initiative. Republican officeholders and people of influence are falling into line in support of a Trump second term. He announced he will go after political enemies, including the lawyers and military leaders who put up roadblocks to his effort to overturn the 2020 election. He will replace them with people loyal to him.
In my 30-year career as a Financial Advisor, clients would sometimes ask me to help them buy gold bars and gold coins. I asked why? They said that if civilization collapsed they wanted gold so they would remain rich enough to buy things. I responded that if civilization collapsed, grocery stores, pharmacies, and gasoline stations wouldn't be open. You won't need gold, I said. In a world without rules you would need a gun, ammunition, and a place to hide. The moment you would reveal that you had gold to shop with, armed gangs would shoot you and take whatever they want.
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| Walt is armed with explosives when he confronts a meth gang in Breaking Bad |
Gerald Murphy is a playwright, composer, and musician. He taught high school English in Yreka, California for 35 years. He currently teaches various film and radio classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Southern Oregon University.
Guest Post by Gerald Murphy
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| Murphy |
I first fell in love with “The Lord of the Flies” when I was twelve. Probably too young to understand what I was reading, but William Golding’s novel excited me more than anything I had read until then. I think what interested me most was the whole idea of young kids totally free from the adult world. No adult rules, no adult sermons on how to behave, and no adult punishments. You could do what you want! No restrictions, no bedtimes, and no plates filled with “healthy” inedible food. It sounded like heaven.
I read the story again recently. Obviously, my feelings about the story had changed since childhood. I learned to see Jack for what he was – a homicidal bully. I now saw Ralph as a “nice guy,” but far too indecisive to be an effective leader. And Piggy, poor intellectual Piggy, and the spiritual and artistic Simon, were both doomed to die in the savage society erected by Jack and his hunters.
Poor kids! If only they had listened to the wisdom of Piggy instead of the vengeful rantings of Jack. If only they had Simon’s insight that the true “beasts” on the island were the boys themselves. If only.
Are there any lessons from this story that can be applied to us today? I might be overly simplistic here, but I see more than a few parallels. When I think of Jack, Donald Trump and his manipulation of fear and prejudice for political gain come to mind. MAGA can be seen in the complicity of evil shown by Jack’s tribe. And although Joe Biden is not nearly as indecisive as Ralph, he seems to lack that killer instinct for hatred, anger, and mockery that has evidently become a necessary asset to win American elections.
Piggy and Simon, those unwilling scapegoats of Jack’s ferocious tribe, are like the “vermin” in Trump’s world view - the poor, the “inferior,” the immigrant, the pointed-headed intellectuals, and the LGTBQ community.
At the end of the novel, Ralph, now alone, runs through the jungle to escape Jack’s angry tribe. And although Jack has become the lone leader of the island, it is not enough. He now uses his power to hunt down and destroy all vestiges of virtue on the island. If Jack is caught, he will face certain torture and death.
Could anything like this happen if Donald Trump pulls off a victory in the 2024 election? Seems unlikely. We are too civilized to allow something like this to occur. After all, we have the U.S. Constitution. We have a system of laws. Trump’s escalation into openly fascistic rhetoric is probably just a new ploy for attention. He can’t be serious in what he says.
It can’t happen here.
[Note: For daily delivery of this blog to your email go to: https://petersage.substack.com. The blog is free and always will be.]
13 comments:
Very well said!
Peter describes how Trump’s chumps see him, “a bold, swashbuckling man of action who breaks rules.” In reality, he is literally a big, fat liar, bully and criminal who obviously spends too much time sitting on his ass, dreaming up ways to turn our republic into his personal fiefdom. Why so many people find that appealing is a mystery.
It can happen here. Add Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 book to your reading list. Odds are that "Buzz" Windrip gets elected. Time to join the Underground. The only question is which way the military bounces.
Preface: I want neither Trump nor Biden in 2024, as it will take a lot more than what these numskulls advocate to guide us into the future.
We are on the verge of world war 3, and these potential 2 nominees have few skills to navigate the future. However, they both have the ability to worry about other things that won't help us when that help is needed. They're more concerned about getting elected. We are in the midst of a proxy war in the Middle East, and one may develop in the Far East. Our unprotected southern border is ripe for unrest, too, if the cartels want to do more than just help migrants. There may be an enemy who might offer the cartels more than what they are getting from transporting those seeking asylum.
What's worse is that neither Trump nor Biden have the staff ready to step in to do the necessary work, or to roll up their sleeves to protect our future. Antony Blinken is making Hillary Clinton look good.
Related to that potential for border unrest is what I learned today about the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. According to several sources, the kibbutz that was nearest to the border crossing was an interesting one; it was a settlement for peaceniks who wanted to help Gazans to a better life. They sponsored border documents for Gazans to come and work in Israel each day; they had many Gazans come over to help in their businesses, to clean their homes, and to try to improve the Gazan lives. Those Gazans learned much about the defense measures that they had in those settlements. Some even friended the Gazans on Facebook, opening their social media contents to not only these new friends they were trying to help, but to the friends of friends who may not actually value or honor that friendship. The 1200+ who were massacred on October 7 had settled near the border to befriend and help those Gazan fighters and terrorists. The repayment for that help wasn't exactly what anyone expected.
There are stories of the kibbutz settlers who we hiding in the war shelters during and after the fighting began. They had to listen to Gazans who invaded the settlers' homes, eating their food, searching their homes for valuables, and even taunting those homeowners to come out of those shelters.
That's quite a repayment for the help those Israelis had given them over the months and years.
I don't think anyone in our current administration, wants to talk about this. I'm sure our media doesn't want to talk about it either.
In the meantime, let's while away the hours, days, and months to come, trying to figure out who will lead the US into the future.
As for Gold...
I purchased a single Krugerrand back around 1980 for around $700. It's value today is a bit more than $2100. My investments since then have done a lot better, so it might be more beneficial to hire a financial advisor to help you. 3x appreciation over 43 years isn't much of a gain.
My investments have certainly done much better.
Gold buying and selling is a big business. Why? 5-10% commission on each end of the transaction. The spot price of gold has a bid and ask price to set a baseline, but those commissions will certainly affect your overall return.
You'd be wise to consult a financial advisor before buying gold.
M2inFLA’s comment is one more piece of evidence that the only peace that the Palestinians want is the peace that they would experience if the Jews were eradicated or expelled from the Mideast.
They are once again being shown that they can’t have that, and that their attempts to create it will only have catastrophic results for them. I hope they learn this time. If not, the lesson can be repeated.
That's quite a story M2inFLA tells about the peacenik kibbutz, not to mention the cartels ready to invade our "unprotected southern border." As he says, neither the administration nor the media are talking about this, so I wonder what his sources are.
Mike, same things occurred to me regarding "peacenik" Kibbutzim and Cartels perhaps invading our unprotected Southern Borders.
M2should be fine, as I believe he/she are residents of the Villages, according to several sources, home of the highest rates of STD transmission in Fliriduh.
No need to take my word for it, regarding the kibbutz peaceniks and Hamas.
Google can be your friend when searching using these terms:
kibbutz residents helping Gazans
If you are truly curious you can find many stories about what happened in those early days. Spend some time being curious rather than critical and unknowing.
As for me being in The Villages, here in Florida, we have Progressives, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and MAGAs to name a few that are criticized by people whose worldview is rather narrow.
One story from NPR for example. Reuters and Haaratz also have stories
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/12/1205284601/what-is-a-kibbutz-the-roots-of-israels-communal-villages-where-violence-raged
Ed Cooper, amazing you spend your time reading about STDs, rather than the news that affects our and your future.
I'm well aware of the various rumors about The Villages. Come on down and find out what's really happening. Somehow we have all the wonderful lifestyles and healthy active lives with a great influx of people from the West, Midwest, and Northeast who are abandoning their homes for a new, better life here.
Even better, the tax burden is lower and overall cost of living much, much lower. I hope you are getting good return on your tax dollars back in Oregon.
Oregon made me what I am today. Successful and healthy. I'll spend my sunset years here, enjoying life and the new friends and experiences here, and in my world travels. Enjoy what the Progressives have left you with in Oregon. Seems to look a lot worse than an STD.
PS no STDs in my circle of friends here, and the rest of the world
PPS why are people heading to Florida, from CA, OR, WA, and many other states? A simple answer: because they can.
M2inFLA, I had done the Google search you suggested before I asked about your source. It turned up that specific NPR article you included, but neither that nor any of the others I saw included the information you described. That's why I asked about your source.
PS: A popular boast among many kids is some form of “my dad can beat up your dad.” For some adults it’s become “my state is better than your state.”
Mike,
I subscribe to the daily podcast that Commentary magazine provides at no charge to listeners. Additionally, I subscribe to the online magazine.
The podcast from a few days ago is where I heard the story first.
Here is a link to a story by John Podhoretz that goes into detail abouth that which I wrote about.
Other media, of course, could do what John did over the last few days, waiting and talking about his experiences in Israel.
https://www.commentary.org/john-podhoretz/kfar-aza-must-live/
If you go to the podcast, available here, you can skip the stuff about Blinken, the Biden administration, and Kissinger.
Podcast:
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/4655F8/pdst.fm/e/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/57878038/podcast_12_1_23.mp3
Fast forward to 1:11:20, and John Podhoretz talks about his visit to the kibbutz that was very close to the border with Gaza. He speaks about his visit experience that he wrote about in the story above.
As for those states, there are many great things in each state. I grew up in NY, and started my tech career in Oregon, as had my wife. We both were successful, we paid off our loans, we volunteered in Beaverton schools, and we paid our above average taxes to the US and Oregon. We credit that success to our time there. There are also things we don't like in each state. Life is a compromise.
Of course I miss Oregon to some extent, but I also am not happy to see the decline there. I travel widely, and always compare my experiences to my past ones. I'm certainly not happy to see the decline in the state that made me what I am today
When we retired, we moved to Florida, after considering Canada, France, Washington State, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Nevada. Florida was a chance find for us, as I reunited with an Aunt I had not seen in over 40 years. She is my godmother, and I was the ring boy at her wedding.
We explored, compared, and we decided on Florida for our sunset years. Why? Weather, Disneyworld, the Gulf and Atlantic Coast. The lifestyle - year-round gold, pickleball, and other outdoor activities. We travel a lot, and we have a large international airport nearby.
We sold our home of 40 years in one day a month before the pandemic shut everything down. Fortunately, I maintain my long term friendship with several people in Oregon.
We each choose to live where we are and for various reasons. Some of us are mobile, others are not.
Thank you, M2inFLA, for the response, but John Podhoretz and his Commentary magazine, which offers “conservative Jewish thought and opinion,” are not exactly objective in their reporting. Not that there’s really any debate – we all know that Hamas committed unspeakable atrocities against Israelis on Oct. 7. The only question is whether that justifies the atrocities Israelis are now committing against Palestinians.
As for the appeal of various states, I was raised in the military and lived in a number of them, including Florida which didn’t appeal to me at all. But they all have their attractions and if there is societal decline going on, I think it’s nationwide. Not that long ago I never could have imagined that one of our major political parties would be led by a madman who tried to overthrow the government and that so many Americans would support him. But what do you know, it can happen here.
Just yesterday I spent a few hours at the Southern Oregon Historical Society Library at the newly signed former JC PENNY BUILDING. I was engrossed in local author /historian JeffzLaLand's PhD thesis on ealy 20th century America, Oregon
Medford, and the Ku Klux Clan.
It is titled "It can 't happen here;Oregon....and the KKK."
In it he names names familiar to.most of Jackson County residents today,but in reference to unfamiliar predecesdors and situations.
It is a chilling read and reflects the public manifestation of private emnity through crowd mentality. The ensuing violence,civil disruption and destruction of public image of individuals a d businesses during this period is but a preview of today and perhaps tomorrow exactly 100 years later.
The subtext of Goldings work provides all of the adult moral lessons and precepts kids try to.escape. The goal of course is for the reader to have the "ah ha" moment of realizing and formulating them for themselves.
The hope for America lies in the faint hope that citizens will see and return to the moral order that is the antithesis to all things MAGA and all things TRUMP
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