Posted on 30-9-2003
Ego
& Id
by Alan Marston
Kowtowing to the bully is not one of humanity's admirable qualities,
nevertheless it is endemic, one might justifiably say epidemic,
in public
life. The interesting thing rarely spotted by bully and bullied
alike is
that some hardy souls do not succumb and it is they who configure
the
following generations. In that vein I would not expect Paul
Holmes to
recover his top-dog role in broadcasting in New Zealand and
I would not
expect Helen Clark to continue being the mouthpiece for biotech
corporates
in the GE food debate but I do expect that Kofi Annan will continue
to gain
respect on the world stage. G W Bush, its only a matter of time
before
Iraq's David cripples USA's Goliath's military-industrial economy.
I believe Paul Holmes' comments about Kofi Annan and Helen Clark's
role in
the GE debate come from the same place that is the source of
most Greek
Tragedy, a place called Hubris. The Greeks were acutely aware
of the danger
of what we now call ego-inflation, because a leader suffering
from an out
of control ego could be fatal to the well-being of a whole city
state. Yet
in the modern era, with leaders like G W Bush touting the worst
kind of
imperial ambition backed up by nuclear weapons, the warnings
of Greek
Tragedies are not just ignored, the populace is kept in profound
ignorance
as to their import. Into the cyclone of ego-mania sweeping the
`Global
Economy' all but the strong of character loose their feet. As
yet the
strong are barely visible, they may well be from Africa and
South America
and other lowlands.
Meantime we are obligatory spectators to `Ego and Id' the play
of our times.
Act I: Scene I. The Church of the Latter Day United States (CLDUS)
is rent
with internal struggle between contending pretenders to Heaven's
Throne...
G W Bush is anointed by the money-changers.
Scene II. The new leader of Heaven storms Earth.
Scene II. Earth proves more solid than Heaven and Oil.
Scene III. Some mortals retain their centre, expose the icons
as straw dogs.
Scene IV. CLDUS remains, but purged for a time from Hubris.
Act II: Scene I. Kofi Annan uses the UN podium to warn the world
off G W
Bush's doctrine US broad spectrum dominance
Scene II. Paul Holmes sees his God criticised, assumes the mantle
of God's
servant in New Zealand, acts accordingly only to find he is
not God and has
demonstrated that fact with utmost clarity.
Scene III. Righteous indignation sweeps the land, the masses
want the
false God destroyed, the pretender to divinity is brought down.
Scene IV. A new Icon for worship is hoisted into position.
Act III: Scene I. After waiting in the wings for 20 years Helen
Clark is
raised to high office by a spiritually starved populace desperate
for a new
leader, any leader.
Scene II. Auspicious events are attributed to the leader. The
leader
suffers from ego-inflation.
Scene III. The populace find themselves lead by a demi-god who
no longer
listens.
Scene IV. Greek Tragedy in wool and tramping boots, the God
is defeated in
battle.
Post play consciousness: When all around is spinning, stand
still.
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