As was once written so well --- and often repeated by tortured princes across time and across this world --- now made glorious on this nation's main stage in a mixed bag of comedy, tragedy and farce:
".... To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action...."
Really a small edit is called for in an early phrase above.....
Where the Bard writ "consummation" >>> our band of repertory actors and roving players has shown that "constipation" would work far better in this production. Given the action happening on the national stage, it both looks and sounds more accurate and true to the evolving plot....
Maybe, a "PS" or coda to the above would both clarify and drive home the point >>> maybe something from Mr. Bill's "The Scottish Play".....
".... Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing...."
Maybe, not the "MacBeth" !!! Something better suited for closing out our soliloquy about our country's ongoing long day's journey into darkness might be something stentorian from James O'Neill's version of >>> "The Count of Monte Cristo" <<< at least that's an American play about vengeance and justice. Perhaps, it's a far better choice for tying in older and newer >>> American <<< drama to today's make-believe and play-acting on the national stage. --- And thanks to a later dramatic O'Neill, using that show to demonstrate how the bad choices and misdeeds of a few in bygone times could wreak havoc among so many who follow.....
UPDATE & BACKFILL: THE "JANUARY 22ND 2021 AND STILL TALKING ABOUT THE REAL AMERICAN PRESIDENT" EDITION
ReplyDeleteUP AND DOWN, JEN PSAKI'S PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THAT DONALD J. TRUMP IS STILL VERY MUCH THE TRUE AND RIGHTFUL PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
BE IT --- TALKING ABOUT THE PROCESS OF THE CURRENT IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHICH WILL BE MOVING TO THE SENATE PRESENTLY; TALKING ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINES DISTRIBUTION PLAN THAT IS LARGELY A CONTINUATION OF THE TRUMP PROGRAM; TALKING ABOUT THE SO-CALLED NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF MANY AMERICANS, SOME DESCRIBED AS RADICALIZED TRUMP SUPPORTERS; AND/OR ODDLY OUT OF CONTEXT REPEATING THE "BIG LIE" THAT FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN "BEAT" DONALD TRUMP IN THE 2020 ELECTION --- PSAKI THE SPOKESPERSON OF THE CURRENT TEMPORARY TENANT AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE HAS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ON HER MIND AS MUCH AS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
Jen's words and answers to the White House press corps betray myriad insecurities and concerns when it comes to President Trump and/or his supporters going forward.