It’s hard to ignore the machinations of the current U.S. House of Representatives. The threat of financial default of our country’s debt payments is an extremely serious consequence of a malicious mixture of politics, ignorance and willful disregard of consequences if the full faith and credit of the United States is put at risk. Although I try to confine my comments to local issues, the fallout from this game of retribution and politics will severely impact every facet of government – including local – as well as the private sector.
There is nothing new about the use of political brinksmanship that, in the end, becomes destructive, divisive and cruel. History is replete with painful examples that result in needless suffering, even violence and inhumanity that, upon reflection, is hard to comprehend. While many disapprove of these actions and resist, others become complacent, willing tools, albeit controlled by master manipulators who lack a moral compass, regard for fellow human beings or life itself in any form.
American-born British poet T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) addressed the vagaries and ultimate disposition of those who choose to dwell in a superficial landscape of fear, greed and hatred. Best known colloquially for his poems that formed a foundation for the wildly successful play, Cats. Eliot’s works continue to have a profound impact on English literature.
Published in 1925, Hollow Men, describes the ultimate fate of those who present a formidable façade, yet have little internal strength or fortitude.
Although of a different decade and century, his words ring true today and should sound a warning for those who choose political antics over substantive, positive responses to pressing societal problems. Political struggles such the 16th century Gunpowder Plot to blow up English lawmakers, known for a perpetrator, Guy Fawkes, is referenced as the overall tone of the work points toward the ultimate fate of such hollow men. Their semi-existence in a desolate purgatory between life and death with little or no hope for redemption.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
(…)
As wind in dry grass
He goes on to describe their lack of character:
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Eliot ends the poem on a decidedly pessimistic note that could be applied to the current political/societal climate. Recent recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day of Nazi fanaticism and extermination camps is an extreme reminder of the legacy of hollow men. Let’s hope our collective will and leadership lead us to a different conclusion.
