The triumph of the goddess Dulness (vide Alexander Pope) – Trump and the evangelicals – The end of the impeachment trial – Why the trial was worthwhile – A Russian protester plays Beethoven –Another virus casualty – Driving in the icy weather – Evening statistics
At times it seems that the reign of Donald Trump was predicted by Alexander Pope in The Dunciad, written in 1742.
Art after art goes out, and all is night. See skulking Truth to her old cavern fled Mountains of casuistry heap'd o'er her head! Philosophy, that lean'd on heaven before, Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more. Physic of Metaphysic begs defense, And Metaphysic calls for aid on Sense! See Mystery to Mathematics fly! In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die. Religion, blushing, veils her sacred fires, And unawares Morality expires. Nor public flame, nor private, dares to shine; Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine! Lo! thy dread empire, Chaos! is restored; Light dies before thy uncreating word: Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall; And universal darkness buries all.
Religion has certainly been veiling its sacred fires of late. “Shame, shame,” Franklin Graham wrote to the ten Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment. “It makes you wonder what the 30 pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal.” There we have it: Graham, one of the leading figures in the evangelical church, seriously believes that Trump is on the same level as Christ himself. And he appears to be representative of evangelical Christianity in this country as a whole. Adam Kinzinger, one of the ten Republicans aforementioned and himself a born-again Christian, gave a melancholy assessment of the church in general and of his denomination in particular. “The devil’s ultimate trick for Christianity,” Kinzinger said, “is embarrassing the church. And I feel it’s been successful.”
And morality has expired, at any rate in the Senate. The impeachment trial has ended, with Trump being acquitted: no surprises there. Seven Republican senators gave a vote for conviction, but that was not enough for a two-thirds majority. During the trial today details emerged about a call that Kevin McCarthy made to Donald Trump on January 6th during the besiegement of the Capitol, with McCarthy imploring Trump to call the rioters off and the exchange between the two quickly degenerating into a profanity-laced shouting match as Trump refused, saying that the rioters cared more about the election results than McCarthy did. One might think that this incident was an important piece of evidence in the impeachment trial currently underway. Yet McCarthy and the other Republicans privy to this conversation have not as much as mentioned this little detail during the trial, have not shown any discernible resentment for having their lives placed in danger, and have consistently imposed obstacles in the way of the trial occurring at all.
The trial was not entirely a wasted effort. There is at any rate some pushback in the Republican Party against Trump, and this may expand with time. Even if the vote for conviction failed to gain a two-thirds majority it still obtained a majority, so it can in no way be considered a vindication. Trump’s methods of incitement were publicized during the trial, which will affect his reputation adversely and make his defense in the various civil suits pending against him more difficult. Already, as previously noted, many companies have dissociated themselves from various Trump enterprises. The fact that he is the only President to be impeached twice will make it more difficult for him to run for office again. All in all it seems likely that Melania has no reason to apprehend that she will recalled from her onerous schedule of spa appointments to resume the light and easy duties of First Lady again.
Looking further abroad, an episode occurred that could have come straight out of one of those panoramic socio-political novels in which the Russians have excelled. Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of a Russian medical workers’ union called “Doctors’ Alliance” and a personal doctor and friend of Alexey Navalny, was the victim of one of the many raids made on supporters of Putin’s main opponent. As the police officers forced open the door, they were greeted by the strains of Beethoven: Vasilyeva resolutely played “Für Elise” while the officers told her to hand over various papers. She was later detained for 48 hours in an action that appears to be based on pure spite. She is by no means unique in her defiance; protests on Navalny’s behalf have erupted all over the nation and more than 5,000 people have already been detained, the greatest number at any point in Putin’s presidency.
And of course during all of this turmoil the virus has not been idle. Here is another sad story – one of the all-too-numerous sad stories that have emerged during these past twelve months! Helen Etuk was raised by a single mother and grew up in fairly restricted circumstances, but she aspired to becoming a pediatrician. She was motivated by the conditions in which she grew up to help children of families whose parents might not be able to afford treatment. In her senior year at the University of North Texas, just one semester from getting her bachelor’s degree (after which she intended to go on for her medical degree), she contracted the virus as a result of attending classes on campus. Many of the students there were careless about wearing their masks, frequently covering their mouths only and not their noses. She was hospitalized for three months and died on January 12th, just a month short of her 21st birthday. There has been so much needless loss of life, but this is one of the most egregious examples. Here is a young woman with intelligence, dedication, compassion, with all of her life before her and who by all accounts would have been ideally suited for the career she selected – and now she will never have the opportunity to minister to young children. “She would have done so much,” her mother said.
It’s another doleful entry, I’m afraid. The combination of bad weather and Trump’s acquittal may account for my disgruntled mood. Also, I was obliged to go out today on the ice-covered roads, very unwillingly. My unit for Internet and TV service needed a new battery and the battery is of a special kind, not available in stores such as CVS or Walgreen’s. So I had to drive to the mall where the Verizon store was located to pick up a replacement. The alternative would have been to have a Verizon service-person to come to the house with the battery to do the installation, and in all probability I would have had to wait until Monday at the earliest. The drive was not as bad as I expected and I also had fewer difficulties in changing the battery than I anticipated. The old battery will have to be taken to the recycling center, but it will not open until Monday. Presumably the roads will be clear by then.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 109,087,234; # of deaths worldwide: 2,404,056; # of cases U.S.: 28,195,388; # of deaths; U.S.: 496,033.