On the Contrary

This is not one of my favorites in the repertoire of Shakespeare’s plays, and I am starting to really appreciate why.  You will remember that Othello is a Moorish General in the Venetian army who is a genius at military strategy and an idiot in human affairs.  Now, in our present day Othello you can just guess who is playing that role, our President.  Iago is his ensign, who makes up stories, or more poignantly in today’s world, reinterprets the facts about Othello’s wife, Desdemona, to make Othello insanely jealous and to finally lead him to ruin when he kills her in a fit of jealousy.  Iago wants to supplant Cassio who is Othello’s lieutenant and uses Othello’s character flaws to gain sway over him. Othello is a captive of his own vainity and insecurity.  Iago in today’s world is played by a host of characters whom you can easily recognize.  When I would watch the original Shakespearean version, I would wonder how Othello could be so dumb as to be lead astray by the manipulations of Iago.  In our present day version, I am wondering the same thing.

You might say that in our present day version of Othello, Desdemona is played by the progressive agenda.  She is beautiful and pure, and will provide us a good life if we let her.  Our Moorish general, President Obama, wants so to believe and trust in her (the progressive agenda), but the Iagos of today keep planting doubt into his mind, and his own character flaws of insecurity (both Othello’s jealousy and Obama’s bipartisanship and need for a legislative win) have him listening to these doubts.  His vanity blinds him to the reality that is out there, and he ends up killing Desdemona in a fit of jealousy.  Barack’s vanity (acknowledging that they under estimated the weakening economy, Barack tells us he would do nothing different, and his need for a bill, any bill) blinds him to keeping faith with that agenda and he kills real change and the progressive agenda.

Our present day Othello came into office courting that beautiful lady, the progressive agenda, promising to be ever faithful to her.  But once he had won her (been elected) the Iagos of the world began their attack on his belief in her.  Here are some of Iago’s scurrilous prevarications that have turned our Othello’s head:

• Oh fair General, be afraid of the other generals.  Be wary of their wrath.  Ignore that minor gays in the military issue.  Go slowly.  Trampling the rights of a few is a small price to pay for their support.

• My Liege, tread carefully with the powerful bankers.  They are your friends and can finance your future aspirations.  Do nothing to upset their apple carts.  Long live fat old white men.

• Oh Great Leader, be afraid of deficits.  Scale back your stimulus.  Don’t listen to those who cry wolf and unemployment.  Find a middle road that accomplishes less but bows to the god of deficit fear and tax cuts.  Fear has served past leaders well.

• Sweet Gentle General, your wish to help all with health care is widely beloved.  But you risk failure if you do not accommodate the winds of compromise.  A little change now is better than nothing.  There will be more opportunities later.

• Oh Great Giant of Change, we must go slowly on climate change.  Transferring our economy from polluting and inefficient energy sources to green sources must be painless or the rabble will rebel.  Don’t worry about the rest of the world.  We can always catch up later.  China is a paper tiger.

• Oh Fierce Warrior, do not listen to those soft, mushy, weak-kneed libertarians who do not understand the iron fist of battle.  With some legal easy speak we can justify the last administration’s policies on trials and detention, to say nothing of secrecy and spies.  Better a safe state than one that allows principles to put us at risk and raises questions about our governance.

• Oh Supreme Commander-in-Chief, a won battle at any cost is so much more satisfying than a prudent retreat.  Continue our battles in the Middle East.  The rabble loves a warrior.

• Finally Oh Great Light in Our Sky, fear asking for real sacrifice.  The rabble will not brook sacrifice.  Go slow and do not worry about our future, the ship is slowly turning and that is fast enough.  Real change requires risks and you must not risk your future tilting against windmills like real change.  Just call your compromises change.

So our Moorish General listens to such false arguments and forsakes his Desdemona.  And like in Shakespeare’s original play, I can never understand how he can be such a fool.  Maybe our own Othello will lament as the Shakespearean one did:

“Then must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely, but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought,
Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe.”

And we would say to the Iagos of the world:

“O Spartan dog,
More fell than anguish, hunger or the sea!
Look on the tragic loading of this bed.
This is thy work.”