It is amazing how literature can predict and reflect real life. In 1954, William Golding wrote a gem of a novel that was a depiction of societal power and cruelty. The novel, also made into a movie in 1963, has been the eighth most frequently banned book in schools due to language and violence. The hailed work of fiction is filled with bullying and some pro-slavery ideology. It is a chilling story that was called a display of the dark side of human nature and was deemed to be fearsomely realistic.
The novel details a crisis caused initially by war and a subsequent plane crash, leaving only a group of schoolboys to survive on a stranded island. Left to fend for themselves, a societal evolution evolved. The writing was deemed defamatory to minorities, God, women, and people with disabilities. It encompasses manipulation and condones violence and the book theorizes that mankind is no more than animals. The lead characters are Ralph who is a civilized lad, Jack who is a savage and evil youngster, Simon who is the good schoolboy, Piggy who is the wise young scientist, and Roger who is the sadist. You may recognize the novel as the classic story of Lord of the Flies.
These days, the Lord of the Flies narrative has come to life with only a change in characters, time, and place. Let us look at how a current version of Lord of the Flies has developed into the 2023 revision, Lord of the Lies.
Today, the besieged middle school boys are akin to MAGA followers in Congress who are stranded on the island of the District of Columbia. With Jan 6, the war of sorts, and the plane crash being the assault on the Capitol. In the proposed sequel of Lord of the Lies, the MAGA society attempts to build their own civilization and has regressed into savagery and a loss of morals. The MAGA mantra condones murder as shouts ring out of “I will slit their throats” and “Kill him” referring to government workers and US military leaders which is becoming more common.
Lord of the Lies comes alive with Matt Gaetz, Boebert, MTG, Scalise and Jordon as they lead the way as did the ruthless Jack, the leader of the brutal hunters, and Roger, the sadist. Led by power and cruelty, Jack eventually kills Piggy because he was the voice of reason in their world gone mad. Piggy had to be crushed for the new and violent reign to go unchecked. The merciless group took from Piggy what they needed which was his glasses for starting a fire and then killed the young scientist.
Does the theme of Lord of the Flies remind us of the MAGA followers who this week swiftly vacated Steny Hoyer’s and Nancy Pelosi’s House leadership offices? And the plethora of other cruel acts surrounding this change? And what about this week’s recommendation by the indicted felon, nuclear secret leaking, sadist Trump for Jim Jordon as House Speaker? You bet it does!
In what Joe Biden has clearly categorized as our internal threat to democracy, MAGA has proven itself to be the modern-day Lord of the Lies. Not surprisingly, we learned this week that Putin will resume propaganda prior to the US 2024 elections to sway votes towards the MAGA movement and away from support for Ukraine.
This Republican House has proven itself to be a group of scofflaws living the dark side of human nature as they attempt to gain ultimate power. Their cruel and venomous actions are devoid of humanity and any democratic rationale. We can only hope that their evil society ends in the demise of the MAGA movement in this world of ours that some days seems to have gone mad. In the meantime, you may want to refresh yourself with the novel, Lord of the Flies, before it is totally banned for being too realistic and playing out on the island of the District of Columbia today.
“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
Lord of the Lies
Will the real Matt Gaetz please step forward…
P.S. – Florida’s Matt Gaetz remains under investigation for sexual misconduct, sex trafficking, illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misuse of State ID records, converted campaign funds for personal use, and accepting impermissible gifts among other allegations.
“National hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
