{"id":110930,"date":"2025-07-01T18:08:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=110930"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:53:06","slug":"comments-on-current-politics-with-a-nod-to-the-15th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/07\/comments-on-current-politics-with-a-nod-to-the-15th-century.html","title":{"rendered":"Comments on Current Politics, with a Nod to the 15th Century"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Earliest<\/a>
This earliest surviving portrait of Richard III (1452-1485) was painted in around 1520. There is a great deal of debate about Richard. Was he really the consummate villain portrayed by Shakespeare? Or is Shakespeare, wittingly or unwittingly, slandering a good king under the influence of Tudor propaganda?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most spectacular acting performances that I\u2019ve ever seen was in 1994, at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. \u00a0(We had hoped to slip down there for two or three plays this week, but I\u2019ve been a bit under the weather.) \u00a0Even after thirty-one years, I still remember Gary Armagnac<\/a> playing the horrifying title role in Richard III<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Richard is one of the darkest villains in all of English literature, and Gary Armagnac did him full, um, justice. \u00a0Since then, though, I\u2019ve come to have Doubts about whether Shakespeare\u2019s portrayal of the last of the Plantagenet monarchs is even remotely fair or true to real history.<\/p>\n

Such doubts added an extra bit of enjoyment to my just-concluded reading of Josephine Tey\u2019s 1951 detective novel The Daughter of Time<\/em><\/a>, the last book that she published during her lifetime. \u00a0In 1990, it was ranked number one by the Crime Writers\u2019 Association in Britain among The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n

She focuses in particular on the infamous murder of the two \u201cprinces in the tower,\u201d which has almost universally been ascribed to King Richard III. \u00a0She, by contrast, blames his successor, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor dynasty (and the father of the ever-lovable Henry VIII), and says that both we and Shakespeare have been the victims of Tudor propaganda. \u00a0Henry VII was attempting \u2014 quite successfully, it seems \u2014 to justify his overthrow of Richard and his usurpation of the English throne.<\/p>\n

In The Daughter of Time<\/em>, her detective hero, Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, is laid up in the hospital with a broken leg, and he is utterly bored. \u00a0However, he becomes intrigued with the face \u2014 and, thereby, with the character \u2014 of Richard III, as it is shown, I think, in the portrait below. \u00a0So, with the help of some friends and especially of an American researcher who is temporarily working in England, he takes up an investigation from his hospital bed, using only logic and reference books, of the case of the two young princes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good read, although you might need a score card or a small notebook handy. \u00a0You might want to have a computer or a reference work or a genealogical chart nearby in order to keep the names and family relationships straight. \u00a0(There\u2019s a family tree in the back of the Kindle edition of The Daughter of Time<\/em>, but I didn\u2019t know that until I had finished the novel.)<\/p>\n

\"Wikimedia<\/a>
A late-sixteenth-century image of King Richard III, of England, the last monarch from the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, from the National Portrait Gallery. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last night, as we often do, we met up with a group of friends and neighbors for dinner and then attended a play at the Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater in Lindon<\/a>. \u00a0(They were, of course \u2014 as I\u2019ve explained here several times before, and as should be obvious \u2014 actually my wife\u2019s<\/em> friends. \u00a0Understandably, given my gross character flaws and my viciously mean-spirited and grotesquely toxic but nonetheless buffoonish personality, as those have been meticulously chronicled and documented over on the Peterson Obsession Board, I can scarcely be expected to have any real friends of my own<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

The play was An American in Paris<\/em><\/a>, with music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and following the book by Craig Lucas. \u00a0It\u2019s heavy on dancing, which, alas, does little for me \u2014 I\u2019m pretty much immune to the charms of Terpsichore \u2014 but even I could recognize that the dancing was exceptionally well executed and that the play was beautifully performed. \u00a0And, of course, once again, the music was by George Gershwin.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Gershwin offers yet another illustration of the tragedy of unrealized potential in mortal human life. \u00a0He died rather suddenly in 1937, at only thirty-eight years of age. \u00a0Think of the music that we might have had!<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/a>
The future Democratic People\u2019s Republic of New York City? \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three notes on the current political scene:<\/p>\n

First, to put it with utmost mildness, I\u2019m not a fan of socialism, whether in its \u201cdemocratic\u201d form or in its very common (and often mass-murderous) un<\/em>democratic forms. \u00a0For that and for many other reasons, I was not happy to see Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. \u00a0(I\u2019m aware, of course, that Andrew Cuomo was a thoroughly unpalatable alternative.) \u00a0I\u2019m worried about the prospect of Mamdani\u2019s becoming mayor, but I\u2019m also deeply distressed at the fact that a sufficient number of New York voters are so historically and economically uninformed that he could<\/em> win the nomination.<\/p>\n

I am, furthermore, mightily displeased at the religious bigotry that has been manifest at the rise of Mr. Mamdani\u2019s candidacy. \u00a0Here are two paragraphs from Mariya Manzhos, writing for the Deseret News<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\n

But once in the spotlight, Mamdani\u2019s faith quickly became a target of virulent attacks. He faced repeated accusations of antisemitism and endured a smear campaign, where one ad digitally darkened and exaggerated his beard. Worse, he received explicit bomb threats, prompting an NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force investigation.<\/p>\n

Conservative influencer Laura Loomer posted on X: \u201cThere will be another 9\/11 in NYC and @ZohranKMamdani will be to blame.\u201d Others have called him \u201cterrorist sympathizer\u201d and Rep. Andy Ogles (R\u2011TN) referred to him as \u201clittle muhammad\u201d and questioned the legitimacy of his naturalization process, calling for his deportation. \u00a0(\u201cA Muslim mayor in New York City? What we learned about religious pluralism from New York City\u2019s mayoral primary\u201d<\/a>); see also the disturbing things reported in \u201cMamdani\u2019s New York victory sparks Islamophobic backlash in US:\u00a0Advocates say attacks targeting mayoral candidate\u2019s Muslim identity show Islamophobia remains tolerated in US politics.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There are plenty of reasons to oppose Zohran Mamdani. \u00a0However his Muslim religion, as such, is not one of them.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
You may recognize this building as the most exclusive home in Washington DC.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My second item: \u00a0A few days ago, speaking with reporters, President Trump let fly with an f-bomb. \u00a0Many seem to appreciate this sort of thing, coming from him, as a sign of his \u201cauthenticity.\u201d \u00a0At the very least, they\u2019ll give some excuse about our not having elected a choirboy. \u00a0(That\u2019s certainly obvious!) \u00a0I, however, do not appreciate such language from a president, and I don\u2019t excuse it.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m fully aware that he\u2019s not the first president to have used vulgar or profane language. \u00a0Vice President Joe Biden was caught on microphone using an f-bomb in a comment to President Obama after the passage of a major piece of health-care legislation. \u00a0Richard Nixon was caught on tape using some pretty crude language. \u00a0Harry Truman was famous for his salty tongue (though \u2014 and I may be wrong on this \u2014 I don\u2019t know that he used obscenities). \u00a0Mr. Trump\u2019s use of the f-word during remarks to the press, though, stands out for its very public and open nature.<\/p>\n

Why does this bother me? \u00a0It\u2019s not as if I haven\u2019t heard vulgar language before. \u00a0My father owned a construction business, after all, and I grew up around construction workers, often (especially during summers) working alongside them. \u00a0There was plenty of colorful language in such circles, and I usually worked as the assistant and errand boy to a mechanic who was one of the most eloquent profaners whom I\u2019ve ever known, a true artist of swearing. \u00a0(See \u201cRed Faler, Scriptorian.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

But the American presidency combines the roles of offices that are generally distinct in parliamentary systems. \u00a0He is both head-of-state (comparable to Britain\u2019s monarch or Israel\u2019s president or maybe Canada\u2019s governor general) and functioning head-of-government (comparable to a prime minister). \u00a0In the former role, more ceremonial, he is responsible for leading the nation in mourning (e.g., commemorating solemn occasions, placing wreaths, addressing us after a Space Shuttle disaster) and he should, therefore, assume at least the appearance of decorum, propriety, and moral rectitude.<\/p>\n

My third issue: \u00a0In the current renewed spat between Elon Musk and President Trump, the president has spoken casually but punitively about eliminating subsidies to Mr. Musk\u2019s companies and has even halfway entertained the thought of deporting<\/em> Mr. Musk. \u00a0Now, I\u2019m not enthusiastic about government subsidies in the first place. \u00a0My quasi-libertarian economic inclinations are strongly oriented to free markets and limited, non-interventionist government. \u00a0But, if there are going to be subsidies, they are either justifiable on their merits or they\u2019re not. \u00a0If they\u2019re not, they shouldn\u2019t exist. \u00a0If they are<\/em>, though, they shouldn\u2019t be granted or withheld on the basis of a person\u2019s or a company\u2019s agreement or disagreement with some policy or piece of legislation favored by a powerful politician. \u00a0Ours is supposed to be a government of laws, not of men. \u00a0This is a republic, not a personal fiefdom ruled by whim, in which the ruler doles out the spoils.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 One of the most spectacular acting performances that I\u2019ve ever seen was in 1994, at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. \u00a0(We had hoped to slip down there for two or three plays this week, but I\u2019ve been a bit under the weather.) \u00a0Even after thirty-one years, I still remember Gary Armagnac playing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":100775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38915,38909,6567,38906,38912,24190],"class_list":["post-110930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-in-paris","tag-daughter-of-time","tag-gershwin","tag-henry-vii","tag-josephine-tey","tag-richard-iii"],"yoast_head":"\nComments on Current Politics, with a Nod to the 15th Century<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  One of the most spectacular acting 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