The unraveling of King Lear

Here’s the thing. By Act V the old King is ranting and raving incoherently. It all starts at the beginning of Shakespeare’s play when Cordelia, his favorite daughter refuses to flatter and suck up to him, which Lear interprets as a sign of disloyalty and disrespect for his high standing. So he goes into a crazy spree breaking up his family, inciting them to murder each other, promoting enormous havoc in the kingdom.

“The extremity of his anger seems to surprise everyone, and his rage may be a sign that Lear is becoming senile, or losing his mind”.

Ring a bell?

Here’s the thing. The confusion, slander and violence seeping into everyday life in America are the most dangerous threats democracy has encountered since the Civil War. The story is no longer about Joe Biden; at the end of the day I am not an American, at least not a North American and have no horse –or vote- in this election. But I do have a healthy respect for democracy as upheld and defended over the centuries, and at huge cost, by the American people. “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others” a phrase attributed to the Churchill in 1947 and my feelings exactly.

We would do well do to defend it tooth and nail because the alternatives, and I have experienced a few in my part of the world, are frankly terrible.

Trump is raving not across a theatre stage in period costume, but in front of the world in real time, your lifetime and mine. Now look. In my small and unimportant country, in my small and unimportant way I have fought for the rule of law, the balance of power and the right to free speech, the right to debate and to choose our leaders. I have not always been successful and have sometimes paid the price. I would do it all over again.

So maybe I do have a horse in this race after all. If Trump’s ranting against everyone who doesn’t give him his way, who doesn’t say red when it is clearly blue, who won’t deny the people the right to choose someone else -happens all the time- he may well succeed in bringing down the house and burying us all in it.

Why all? Why us, so geographically and culturally removed from the “gringos”?

Because their model, imperfect as it is, is the only one standing between us and China, us and Russia or God forbid, us and his pal Kim.

The Americans became world leaders not only because they had the money and the armies –and the people willing to use both- but because they invented a system where “all men are created equal”, meaning that every voice counts and nobody is above the law. At least not on paper, and believe me you, that is already a far cry better than what most countries have.

I know: been there, done that.

Now one man is acting like he owns the process and that he could, at a whim, command the outcome by changing anything that goes against his wish. Because of that he has cowered or convinced almost half a country into doing his bidding, endangering them and the rest of their country and other aspiring democracies -that’s us- along the way.

The optimists say not to worry, there are only thirty or so days left. Thirty days is more than enough for one of the kooks who follow Trump blindly, high on hate and inflammatory speeches, to decide to avenge him and put a bullet through Biden’s heart -or Harris’.

With much less hate they killed two Kennedys.

This could end very badly, as bad as King Lear, and that was not a pretty picture. I also worry about the post-Trump era where for the first time in modern history we will see a powerful man who should only be a political adversary playing by the rules become a mortal enemy bent on destroying a new Administration.

Damn the pandemic and everything else. Damn the people, including those who voted for me.

“Après moi -it will be more moi or it will be- le déluge”.*

*“Après moi, le déluge” or “After me, the floods”. Attributed to Louis XV of France; real meaning “After I go, I don't give a damn”.