On constitutional democracy; racial nuttiness; a lesson from Monty Python; a great pianist; the ‘Ghost Army’; and more
In the past several years, we have heard a lot about the “guardrails” of the United States — things that protect our democracy from non-democratic actors. I thought of this word “guardrails” when reading a report from the Associated Press: here. The heading of the report is “Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense.” The subheading reads, “Preparing for the worst has become the leading strategy for Arizona election officials since 2020.”
I would like to quote at length from the report, but people can read it for themselves, when they have time. Here is one thought I would contribute: Often, the “guardrails” are human beings — individuals — willing to do the right thing. Determined to observe the rule of law, even when it’s difficult (or especially then). A democratic spirit is the “guardrail.” Paper protections can only do so much. Without human beings, to enforce the “paper,” our democracy is cooked.
This is not a new thought. It is old. But it is true, I think.
(Consider: On January 6, Vice President Mike Pence was a “guardrail.”)
• In recent days, Donald Trump has said, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.” And Charlie Kirk — the young Republican leader — has said, “If you vote Democrat as a Christian, I think you can no longer call yourself a Christian. You have to call yourself something else. I do not think you can be a Christian and vote Democrat.”
Whatever their worth as political leaders — I think Trump and Kirk are worth less as religious leaders.
• Lately, Senator Marco Rubio has been in the news, because he is one of Trump’s vice-presidential considerations (apparently). Articles have described Rubio as “nonwhite.” There are many screwy things about our country. Never are we screwier than when it comes to matters of race.
• Have a look at the below, out of Ontario. And then let’s consider a problem.
On one hand, you say, “Stand up to bullies! Don’t let them shut you down! The show must go on.” On the other: What about the question of physical safety? How much risk should one incur? Will police protection be enough?
I can easily comment (as we all can). But I don’t envy those having to make these decisions.
• For days, people have been saying that this piece in The New Yorker is fascinating, and they are right. It is a review — more like a review-essay — by Adam Gopnik of a book by Timothy W. Ryback: Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power.
Gopnik quotes Goebbels: “The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the tools to its own destruction.” Gopnik says that this is “one of those quotes that sound apocryphal but are not.”
Fascinating.
(The point has been pressed on me over and over — by people who know: In 1998, Hugo Chávez won the presidential election in Venezuela fair and square. And then: le déluge.)
• I have it on good authority that the below sketch was shown this month in a political-theory seminar at Harvard — as well it should have been:
Greatest scene & writing of all time #MontyPython pic.twitter.com/MBIS3P6cWr
— Svetlana🇸🇰🤘 (@HeavyMetalSvet) March 22, 2024
• Ronna McDaniel has been hired by NBC News, as a political commentator. This has generated a great deal of controversy. From 2017 until very recently, she was the chairman of the Republican National Committee. Before that, she had billed herself as “Ronna Romney McDaniel.” This was understandable. She is a granddaughter of George Romney, the fabled Michigan businessman and politician (and a niece of Mitt). But along came Trump: and the “Romney” disappeared.
Is it safe to restore it now?
When future historians write about the Trump era, I think they might fasten on this detail: McDaniel’s ditching of the “Romney.” It illustrates the obeisance, or self-abasement, that the era involves.
• The great pianist Maurizio Pollini has died. (To read his obit in the New York Times, go here.) Yes, he was great. I had my criticisms, as many of us did. He could be frosty. In the last decade or so, I stopped reviewing him, because I thought age had caught up with him. But, Lord, he was great.
His outstanding qualities were an ample intelligence; a commanding technique; and integrity — musical integrity.
To hear Pollini at his best, I would recommend two recordings — two famous recordings: of the Chopin études (here) and of Stravinsky’s Petrushka movements (here). Those recordings give you pure, unalloyed, marvelous Pollini.
• “David E. Harris, Trailblazing Airline Pilot, Is Dead at 89.” (Obit here.) “In 1964, at the height of the civil rights movement, he became the first Black pilot for a major commercial airline in the United States.”
Harris had been turned down by airline after airline. Finally, he had an interview with American — whose chief pilot said this: “Young pilot, this is American Airlines. We don’t care if you’re black, white, or chartreuse. We only want to know this: Can you fly the plane the right way?”
Marvelous. (And “chartreuse” is a great touch.)
• From the AP:
With inflatable tanks, radio trickery, costume uniforms, and acting, the American military units that became known as the Ghost Army outwitted the enemy during World War II. Their mission was kept secret for decades, but on Thursday the group stepped out of the shadows as they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in Washington.
(For the complete article, go here.)
There are seven known survivors of the Ghost Army. Three of them attended the ceremony: two of them 100, the other 99.
• Here is a stunner — something stunning to read: “Norman Miller, German Refugee Who Helped Arrest a Top Nazi, Dies at 99.”
• Here is another stunner: “Martin Greenfield, Tailor to Sinatra, Obama, Trump, and Shaq, Dies at 95.” A celebrity tailor might make a nice obit. But what is so stunning about it? How he survived Auschwitz. How he survived Auschwitz. One can hardly summon the words.
• Maybe one more, for the road: “Ben Stern, Who Opposed a Nazi Rally in Illinois, Dies at 102.” Stern — born “Bendit Sztern” — “was held prisoner in nine concentration camps.”
• Thank you for joining me today, everyone. Maybe a couple of photos to say goodbye with.
In Central Park, a splash of yellow:
I thought William Shakespeare — again, in Central Park — was looking particularly good:
Talk to you soon. All the best.
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