Skip to main content

Cassandra & Hillary: A Greek Tragedy in the Making


 
 
In Greek Mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam of Troy. When the God Apollo tried to seduce her, she refused him, and to punish her, she received the gift of prophecy, but also the curse of never being believed.

 In modern times, Hillary Clinton draws some comparisons with the Cassandra of myth and Greek tragedy. When Bernie speaks of the Revolution which will enable all Americans to have health care, while at the same time exacting revenge on Wall Street for their many transgressions, he is truly believed.
 
When Donald Trump speaks of the mythical wall that will miraculously be built and paid for by Mexico, he is believed. So the myth continues. The one who is seen as  “honest and trustworthy” tells his supporters things that cannot possible come true. And the one who vows to only promise that which is within her power to enact is considered the liar. So it goes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hillary and the Man in the Arena

From the standpoint of one who voted for and endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, there seems to be a question hanging in the air. How could someone who opposed the Clintonian dynasty support Hillary’s bid for the Presidency? Isn’t it a bit hypocritical? Or at least inconsistent with the view previously taken? This is true for many supporters of Obama. Some on the left cannot support her bid for President.They see many of her acknowledged flaws and conclude she cannot be a viable option. My view comes from watching her over the course of the past eight years, four as the Secretary of State within this Administration. And having watched the two debate in 2008- Obama vs. Hillary- there can be little question that the divide that separates them on most issues is a small one. Theirs is a centrist left view of the world. On Foreign Policy, I daresay that Hillary would never have worked for Obama had she held wildly opposing views from his own world view. But the...

What hath We Wrought?

If someone waking from a deep freeze just saw that tape where Trump was bragging off the record about the way he treated women, grabbing them by the crotch because they "let you do it", it would seem that so many red flags are raised that they would immediately conclude it as disqualifying for any candidate for higher office. It goes without saying that women are not objects, or something lesser to be grabbed and treated as toys or groped simply because someone believes themselves immune from the rules of polite society, an ethical code of conduct or common human decency. It was obvious that Trump couldn't handle even the small amount of power that is bestowed on a Hollywood TV Reality star. Why would anyone think that this person could handle the immense power and pressure that the highest office in the land entails? That does say something about the voters. Voters didn't vote simply for change, they voted for the strong man who didn't just fall to the top...

The "Why Not?" of Hope & Change

The “hopey-changey” thing that Ms. Palin refers to is the stuff that dreams are made of. The reason some politicians succeed where others have failed is predicated upon their ability to convince people to get on board with their pie-in-the sky visions for a better tomorrow.   Starting with FDR, who told us “Happy days are here again” in the middle of the worst Depression in US history, we’ve learned to listen to what our leaders say and take it with a grain of salt. He said we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Actually, as one pundit pointed out recently, that’s not true.   There were a hell of a lot of things to fear during the Great Depression. But Roosevelt made us believe all things are possible.   John F Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” With those words, he instilled a generation of young people with hope and passion to change the world by joining the Peace Corps and working to...