“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds . . .”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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It would have been more correct for Emerson to have stated, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of some little minds . . .” As evidence I call to the witness stand Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In a recently published book, filled with “[v]enom, score-settling, fiction, self-absolution, self-aggrandizement,” according to the Guardian UK, (1) Representative Greene demonstrates that her little mind is consistency-free. On the one hand, she claims that “Democrats abandoned the House chamber to the rioters and exited without resistance, in contrast to brave, gun-toting Republicans”; on the other hand, she asserts that “innocent conservatives and MAGA grandmas . . . peacefully walked through the Capitol on January 6 instead of real threats.”
Rioters or peaceful grannies? Which were the brave, gun-toting GOPers guarding against?
It’s foolish to expect an answer from someone who dwells on Planet Wacko.
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I would suggest that Rep. Greene read the writing on the wall—at least the writing on the walls of some UK soccer fields and purchase the shoes that are “Designed for Connection.” Perhaps she could walk herself into a connection with reality, if not consistency.
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The intrusion of reality into a false world is one purpose of parody.
Here’s a cigarette advertisement that ran for a good while in the latter part of the 1940s:
And here’s the parody (aka, reality):
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To finish the month with a flourish, I offer three of my favorite pieces of mail:
- What Middlesex County, New Jersey has to say about Yosemite National Park in California I don’t know. But I am to be the spokesman. What an honor!
I am of course determined not to miss out on “$0 benefits.” Who wouldn’t be?
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3. Speaking of determined, I can’t wait to discover “THE BEST WAY TO PROCESS HINDQUARTERS.”
Where’s my knife?
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Going to the supermarket? How can you resist buying a pizza sauce that’s “Pizzeria Style”?
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Back in the 1940s, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was really customer-friendly; for the price of admission they gave you a seat.
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And while we’re in the 40s (1949, to be precise) let’s note that Marjorie Taylor Greene (she of the space lasers setting fire to California forests) had a congressional predecessor, Senator Owen Brewster, who claimed that forest fires in Maine were set by foreign saboteurs.
Plus ça change and all that.
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(1) https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mtg-review-far-rabble-rouser-070011370.html
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