John Quixote

He's a maverick on a mule, riding in to fight the evil windmills of partisanship. Everywhere he looks are the sabotaging special interests, rogue enemies with Russian accents, political giants attacking the character and motives of a wooden war hero. At first you acknowledge his resilience, admire his persistence, laugh off his idiosyncrasies. But then you realize he's just a washed up fool in a wash basin hat fighting in a very real war with very real consequences.

The perception of reality in John Quixote's head is very different from what is actually happening on Wall Street, on Main Street, on the streets of Baghdad, the halls of Washington and America's road to tomorrow. He thrives on deceiving others through self-deception hoping that in the end, everyone becomes a fool.

John Quixote, seeking not to be the leader of men, but the king of the fools. Because even a king of the fools is still a king.

And along for the ride, his Dulcinea from Wasilla and Sancho Panza from Stamford, enable the farcical hero. She, a sweet and simple person with a rustic pedigree, chosen to impress, flails in the presence of serious people with serious questions. His squire, the duplicitous Panza, walks in lockstep with John Quixote's shadow, hoping for personal glory and recognition of his own prowess. The bizarre trio, on their own adventure, fighting imaginary enemies in their own imaginary world.

So this is where we are as a nation, with a Presidential candidate in the mold of one of literature's most absurd characters. He bounces through picaresque adventures inspired by deluded internal visions of grandeur. Guided not by the authenticity of outside events, he simply does not care about what the world around him thinks, or the consequences of his false sense of heroism. A careless influence on himself and all others in his path.

It's still unclear whether America's John Quixote will regain his good sense or continue to dwell in delusion, but the consequences of his questionable fitness are becoming more apparent with each passing day.

Quixotic adventures may be entertaining in novels, but recklessly quixotic people have no place in leading the real world.

Comments

[Schaz]

Even the King of fools is still a fool.

[johnsopinion]

I swore I wouldn't say this..... but,

H-m-m, I wonder if that's where he lost HIS right eye? Jousting?

Excellent. More accurate than most comparatives I've read here.

Thanks

[simonbuc]

Great article, Adam, which I've just dugg. Loved the way you brought in Lieberman.

If only McQuixote was as lovable and innocent as the original ...

[knowBuddhaU]

HuffPost's Pick

Very well said, brother. In its brevity is the soul of wit, to paraphrase Shakespeare.

And a great exposition of the proper roles of narrative and metaphor and their importance in clarifying the events of the day. Words, I dare say, aren't mere objects. Words have far more than instrumental value.

But that's how our spinmeisters and politicians have come to use them. They use words only as tools for getting what they want, namely dominance.

Campaigning and advertising are twins: in both, the ad doesn't have to be true, it doesn't even have to make sense. it just has to move the numbers in the desired direction. That's not democracy, that's just machining the electorate.

Many, many people, not just neocons, believe they have the god-given right to dominate all the rest of us. And that's what makes their actions monstrous.

[erinm]

A brillant and dead-on analysis. Thank you.

[respectingothers]

ditto

[c64audio]

"John Quixote" - catchy :)