In the 1980 novel A Confederacy of Dunces, the main character says the local rednecks (his term) reject modern technology because it represents unwanted change.
I’m reminded of that observation by the behavior of the MAGA crowd, our present-day confederacy of dunces (what a delightfully appropriate label), enabled by an especially appalling crop of Republican politicians.
The MAGA people object to all sorts of unwanted change — immigrants, gays, people who aren’t white, efficient healthcare — but their immediate gripe is that Trump lost the election.
The Republican politicians lay low and remain silent to avoid angering the dunces, but the dunces do the opposite: they throw fits, and sometimes pout, because they are displeased and frustrated. Lashing out makes them feel better. Apparently, threatening to tear down democracy is therapeutic for dunces.
What would be therapeutic for me is seeing these fools, especially the elected ones, face consequences for trying to subvert an election. That’s outright treason. Naked sedition.
People also need to face consequences for threatening violence against election officials. That should have led to immediate legal action.
These jerks are doing serious damage to a democracy that, despite its faults, has endured for almost 250 years. Now this generation of right-wing lunatics comes along, and, to the absolute horror of normal people, is willing to wreck it. Are they insane?
Staying on the topic of dunces, the title of the aforementioned novel came from Jonathon Swift, who wrote, “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”
No “true genius” has surfaced, as far as I can tell. That’s a shame, because the country could use one right now — someone clever enough to penetrate the right-wing propaganda bubble, get through to some of those dunces, and coax them back to the real world.
They would have a lot to relearn: how to think and act rationally, how to behave normally, how to accept science, evidence, and logic. Frankly, I don’t think most of them could do it.
And there’s the rub. The right-wingers have become steadily more loony over the decades, and nothing is likely to reverse that. The MAGA faithful aren’t going anywhere. Mental health treatment for 74 million people isn’t in the cards. Which means the dunce population probably will be around, making fools of themselves and causing trouble, until they die out.
Meanwhile, thank God, Democrats will control the House and the White House again. With the two runoffs in Georgia, we even have a chance — albeit slim — to take the Senate.
For now, that bit of hope is about as therapeutic as things are going to get.
I’m Rocky Smith, and I approve this message.
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Mr. Write, this is brilliant. I read that novel, finished by his mother after the author passed. A labor of love but seamlessly done. And your usage of it is both appropriate and timely. I’m going to share this. It needs to be read. Thank you for this; I’ve learned something.
Flattery will get you everywhere.
I meant every word.