What Is He…
Once I was tempted to think that candidates for office are bloviating buffoons, vacuous minded, baby kissers, etc. etc. I no longer think such a candidate for office is harmless. Who is not dismayed by the condition of the country; we are all bit performers in a comedy of societal dysfunction. It is unclear where to go from here, as reasoned comparison and civil exchange of viewpoints has receded in the rear view mirror. A candidate for office who is uncivil is not harmless…
Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida is campaigning for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election. On Friday in South Carolina an exchange took place when a woman expressed her opinion of DeSantis policies. The woman offered that DeSantis is a “fucking” fascist on account of his anti-gay, transgender, and pro-censorship initiatives in Florida. DeSantis thanked the woman for the complement, and then went on the attack saying that those of her opinion are equivalent to enemies, and would not be allowed “to win.” You can read the account of the incident in the Guardian as well as some links on the forms that fascism takes in contemporary American politics.
Nietzsche wrote much about the incipient fascism of his time. These lines struck me as apt description of DeSantis and others of his ilk.
Great man—
From the fact that
somebody is “a big man”
we cannot infer that he is a man;
perhaps he is merely a boy,
or a chameleon of all the ages of life.
or a bewitched little female.
–excerpt The Gay Science, Book 3, Section 208 by Friedrich Nietzsche
