Ship of Fools
The classic 19th-century novel, Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville, remains one of the best depictions of monomania. Many theorize that Melville’s work is more than just a story about a man’s obsession with killing a white whale. It’s possible to interpret the story as an allegory whose allegorical significance, much like George Orwell’s Animal Farm, is pertinent for today.
In Orwell’s novel, we see the emergence of an elite from among the farm animals. Having been recently liberated from human despotism, they are free to create a fair and just society. However, their naivety is duly exploited by the pigs, who see themselves as cut above the other animals.
Instead of creating a fair and equitable society, the pigs become mirror images of their human masters. Orwell’s allegory reminds us to be wary of those who claim to have our best interests at heart, especially when their interests supersede the needs of the many. The animals forget what it’s like to be under the domination of a selfish autocrat, and allow themselves to be enslaved by one of their own.
Moby Dick
Melville’s message is aimed closer to home. Ahab’s ship, The Pequod, is named after an extinct Native American tribe; a not-too-subtle reminder of the dangers of colonialism. The ship (a symbolic representation of the United States) is populated with men from diverse backgrounds.
Ahab, the ship’s captain, has a mission to accomplish, and it is one he’s willing to sacrifice the lives of his crew for. He cares little or nothing for the men’s welfare. They are simply a means to an end.
Moby Dick, who on a previous voyage bit off Ahab’s leg from the knee down, is the primary focus of the captain’s fury. Ahab’s desire for revenge is overwhelmingly destructive.
Nothing else matters but the fulfilment of his need for retaliation. During the course of the novel, we see how deep-seated this lust for retribution lies, and how one man’s obsession can have deadly consequences.
In Orwell and Melville’s texts, the folly of blindly following any leader is clearly illustrated. Once we choose to surrender our critical thinking, and our ability to question to any government, we doom ourselves to exploitation, and manipulation.
The current administration is determined to censor the free press. They brow beat the press in the hope of manipulating its message. Journalists are debased and maligned whenever the White House sniffs out any departure from their ministry of misinformation. Fact-checking, and critical thinking are ridiculed and scorned.
Obviously, this administration fails to understand the role of a good journalist, which is to question the integrity of every area of government. Journalists are be duty bound to uncover, and unmask falsehood. It should ring alarm bells when the right to free speech is threatened by fear of retribution. If journalists lose their objectivity, we are in danger of being drip-fed lies.
When the country, much like Ahab’s ship, is controlled by one man’s obsession for revenge, our fate is sealed. We will rue the day we allowed such a man to destroy the fabric of democracy.
Every day, we witness the tactics of a bully. Families are separated, people are locked up in awful conditions, and suddenly, we find ourselves witnessing violence at the hands of those who in positions of authority. When the military invades your city, it doesn’t inspire a feeling of security.
Seeing images of people being abducted off the street and hauled away is a fear tactic. When the military, and judiciary are at the mercy of one man’s whims, we have a serious problem.
Checks and Balances
This country has always claimed to have checks and balances to protect itself from the misuse of power. If those checks and balances are not implemented, then the problem lies with those who are supposed to activate those safeguards on our behalf.
If those we have elected are incapable of making this one man accountable, they have failed us. We no longer have people in power who are willing to challenge the one person who is trying to destroy our democracy.
Every time the president does something immoral, we don’t find any of his party willing to challenge him. The Republican Party has become a party of enablers. They have chosen to forfeit their consciences for nothing more than pragmatism.
When it comes to the welfare of their constituents, they choose fealty to one who is harming those they claim to represent. Melville was writing in the 19th Century, but he saw how the United States could fall foul to the cause of a monomaniac.
Who could have believed such a thing was possible? Who could have believed a convicted felon would reign supremely over a country that had long since rejected the rule of a monarchy? We see the true nature of this man’s purpose when he acquits the prison sentences of fellow felons.
We see how he uses every distraction he can to avoid opening those hidden files. An innocent man does not act this way. If he’s truly innocent, then let him show the files to us.
What we see in action is someone on the run. The truth hounds him, and sooner or later, it will be exposed. And, when it does, we will hear his enablers plead ignorance. They will try to appear virtuous when they have made it possible for him to shield us from the truth.
Ahab is willing to sacrifice his crew to get what he wants, and this president is willing to throw whomever he needs to under the bus if it means saving himself from being exposed. History will have the last word when it comes to evaluating this president’s failure to act with honour. When people start to wake up to his terrible reshaping of the country, they will find the economy is tilted towards the rich, healthcare is no longer affordable, and the promises he offered are hollow.
He continues to build his kingdom while his people suffer. His legacy will be a new ballroom, which has financed by his rich friends, and those he’s cut deals with. Gold objects will adorn his palace, while the people scrape to survive.
All of Ahab’s crew, bar Ishmael, are drowned because of one man’s obsession. The only hope in Melville’s novel is the survival of Ishmael, who represents the best of humanity. His survival reminds us to always resist the tyrant.
