Lucifer by Von Stuck courtesy of wikipedia.org
Growing up as a Catholic, taking Confession struck me as a wonderful device. Whenever I did something wrong during the week, if I confessed on Friday, the priest would assign me a few prayers to recite, and “poof”, like magic, I was absolved of sin. If I missed a week, I could double up on my confession and receive full forgiveness the following Friday. My misdeeds were unremarkable, but the absolution would be the same whether I confessed to stealing pennies from my mother’s purse or committing murder.
Presidential pardons strike me as being a similar device. Normally, someone receives a pardon after having accepted responsibility for a crime and demonstrated good conduct after the conviction. But, these are untraditional times. For example, on the day he left office, Joe Biden pardoned several public figures none of whom were guilty of any infractions.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was among them, a man who led the country successfully through the AIDs epidemic and COVID-19. General Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also pardoned for serving honorably. In addition, several members of Congress were forgiven for participating in Donald Trump’s two impeachment trials.
Contrast this list to the group Trump pardoned on the first day of his new Presidency. The names included 1500 rioters who assaulted the Capital on January 6, 2020. Those who were convicted of violent acts, mostly gang members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, had their sentences commuted rather than pardoned, which means their freedom was restored but not their civil rights.
The commutation gives them the latitude to serve as Trump’s private militia, however, and that freedom poses a danger. The U. S. Supreme Court decision that absolved the President of all crimes committed while in office could extend to those who carry out his criminal intent.
Militia movements have a long history in this country, but they have never enjoyed the prospect of absolution for their crimes. Of course, having a President who is a felon is also new. Such novel circumstances make for strange bedfellows when entrepreneurs, like Elon Musk, give Trump their full-throated support.
A taste for lawlessness may be what they have in common, but the resemblance goes no further. Violent gangs like to break things while Musk and other tech oligarchs see themselves as visionaries. Even so, within that self-perception lies a dangerous delusion. In his final address to the nation, Joe Biden warned of it, saying these futurists could threaten our entire democracy. What he failed to explain was how.
Many times, I’ve tried to expose the danger high-flying entrepreneurs pose with a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them… Science tells us that “something” is to lose compassion–reason enough, in my view, to apply a tax code that prevents the excessive accumulation of wealth.
True, oligarchs have always been with us, but today’s breed is a zebra of a different stripe. Historically, robber barons were satisfied with displays of conspicuous consumption. They established their place at the top of the pecking order by acquiring multiple mansions, throwing lavish parties, and establishing libraries and hospitals with their names chiseled in granite above the doors. No doubt they bought one or two U. S. Senators, but they never had the wear-with-all to dabble in foreign elections or buy an American presidency.
Today’s oligarchs are capable of these grand ambitions and more. If they have their way, the world will be ruled by Artificial Intelligence, (AI), and paid for with intangible currency like Bitcoin. Our government is large enough to pose some impediments to those plans, but few members of Congress understand the technology and find it easier to accept generous campaign contributions than to erect barriers. Little wonder that when our newly bought President spoke of Stargate’s promise, his owner, Elon Musk, showed no fear in contradicting him.
Many pundits have warned about the dangers of AI, but few, if any, have addressed the threat its creators pose. Like night following day, men who live without limitations of either wealth or power are susceptible to delusions. No doubt, they see themselves as innovators, but in reality, they stifle it. They either buy or out-compete start-ups so that little vision remains outside their own. Over time, the rungs on the ladder of success disappear. Over time, the country ceases to be the land of opportunity and society collapses into a two-class system. The haves and the have-nots.
By their dominance, these men are destroying our democracy though that isn’t their intention. If they dared explore the dark regions of their minds, if they managed to be honest with themselves, however, they would know that what they are making of our society is an amoral oasis, emptied of any understanding of what it means to be civilized. Without a moral compass, ambition strikes, willy-nilly, sometimes for good. Sometimes for ill. Destinies fall to chance.
If I were capable of magic, I’d make a gift to these oligarchs who see themselves as without sin. To each, I’d give a portrait like the one belonging to Dorian Gray. Let them view themselves as they have become. Perhaps enough shame lies buried within to make them shrink.
I doubt it. Their behavior suggests otherwise. With limitless money and power, their plastic brains are newly formed. They do not think like the rest of us, and we are fools to call that difference genius.
Those who are Woke see with clearer eyes than the majority of Americans. They know the road back to human decency is a long one. If I had magic to offer, I would. But I am a writer with only words to serve as armor. Even so, I send the Woke the best of prayers. Do not go gentle into that good night. (Dylan Thomas)
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