The story of the Greek goddess Persephone is a tale that might provide proper guidance for the American people of today's world. According to the story, Persephone, the daughter of Zeus, was raped and then abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, to serve as his wife. As the narrative goes, this was very much against the will of Persephone, and there were offers from other gods to go into the underworld to save her. Persephone, however, chose to accept her fate, and to rule in the underworld beside Hades, as long as he would permit her spirit to emerge into the world of men for a season, once a year in the spring to provide warmth and sustenance for plants, so that the earth might replenish itself each year.
In the last election the American people were presented with a choice: Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton. Although Trump had little chance of becoming the nominee, much less the POTUS, the inevitability of Clinton as the democratic nominee caused his popularity to grow considerably. Eventually we had an election which proved, not who the American people wanted as their president, but rather who it was that we decidedly did not want.
Many readers may disagree with this, but to my eye this situation is analogous to Persephone’s dilemma.The Republican and Democratic parties are both privately held corporations. You may not buy stock in them, and they are not transparent nor are they subject to open records review. The only influence you, as an American citizen have over them is your one fragile vote; and as events have proven more than once, even that influence can be vetoed when expressed by the majority, by the Electoral College. In other words, the ultra rich who own those parties decide who will run, and who will win. Armed with this somewhat disheartening information, I believe it to be no great stretch to liken the rape and subsequent abduction of Persephone to the forceful violation of the American citizens by forcing a choice between a man who collaborated openly with the Russians to gain advantage, and the justifiably reviled mastermind of a global economy which has razed our own economy to the ground, and determined a future world in which American people will be sidelined. Segue to Persephone's abduction into Hell, and the next four years of our lives.
One might reasonably speculate that a strong and healthy Tea Party could have forced the Republicans to nominate a more palatable candidate: I certainly believe that to have been true, but, by luck, or by design, the Tea Party was raped and then murdered in broad daylight by super PACs chaired by attorneys who suspiciously had strong republican ties. It's even possible that some folks could be led to conjecture the possibility that the two facts, that the Tea Party would have strongly influenced the republican choice of candidate, and the openly amoral attack on the Tea Party, are somehow connected.
These events make it clear that Machiavelli was right! Divide and conquer he said, and, divided, we have been conquered. Persephone, when faced with the possibility of playing the role of Helen of Troy, and possibly setting off a war between the gods, chose rather to accept her role as the wife of Hades, while negotiating an important outcome for the world over which her kind ruled. An example of statesmanship rarely seen in myth, or history.
Now it is our turn to choose. Will we, as the spoiled and divided children we have become further divide ourselves until we are nothing but a mob, soon to be ground completely under the heel of our enemies? Or will we accept our fate, humiliating though it may be, and negotiate an outcome which, like all true tides, raises all ships in the harbor? Which will it be, will we continue to cry out to God “why me?”, or will we begin to live our Christian values. Setting aside those differences to which we are, after all entitled to by our own lights, and rebuilding a great America? Each of us must choose, and I say, let each man or woman with courage and determination, reach out to other Americans of a like mind, whether they be democrat or republican. In fact, let us shed those costumes, rented at such a high price, spit in the eyes of those who undermine the notion of a third party, and rise up. Let the silent majority be silent no longer.
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