I was just thinking as I read through an Economist article about elections in Africa, and saw a picture of Hugo Chavez how ridiculous we humans are. Politics as we practice it is truly a joke; the practitioners are all a joke. Those who are in office seem to be the biggest joke of all, looking at the results. When they speak? joke. When they make decisions? joke. When they strut and preen? joke. When they just stand there and pose for pictures? joke. I am really embarrassed with it all. Yes I know the alternatives and realize they are worse, ranging as they do from anarchy to despotic monarchy, but that doesn’t make it any less a joke.
Bernard le Bovier de Fonteneville (died 1757): “a philsopher sees the earth as a large planet, traveling through the heavens, covered with fools.” just so.
Isn’t that just a little arrogant on his part? on my part? Yes it is. Doesn’t it also ignore the importance of the result? Oh yes, it surely does. And doesn’t it also overlook the difficulty involved in trying to govern people? It does, and the people? Us, actually, are somewhat of a joke too, when you sit down and look at the whole thing dispationately. Isn’t it sad that the results of it all so seriously affect us all? It certainly is.
Fontenville and his philsopher must have had quite a laugh. Too bad we don’t have the luxury of sitting up there looking down upon it. But unfortunately we are left with the pain, not only of watching it, but having to deal with those results.
