Beam me up, Scotty!
One occupational hazard of being a political observer in the Trump era is that it’s impossible to escape. Everywhere we go, there’s Trump, living rent free inside our heads…
Case in point: My kids and I are watching the classic ‘Star Trek’ tv show. Today’s episode, titled “The Squire of Gothos,” is about an alien (in earthly humanoid form) named Trelane, who holds Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew captive on his planet.
Trelane appears all-powerful, but he is also petulant.
After losing a sword duel with Captain Kirk, Trelane declares: "You cheated! You haven't played the game right! I'll show you!"
As he toys with our heroic captain and crew, some of their reactions to him remind me of our current political predicament.
"I object to you,” Spock tells Trelane. “I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose.”
"That's your problem, Trelane. Everything is easy. It's given you a bad habit. You're not aware of it, but you have it," Kirk says.
Sound familiar?
The episode finally ends when Kirk refuses to bow to Trelane, and begins scolding him like a naughty child.
Just at that very moment, Trelane's mother and father arrive to tell him it’s time to come home now.
Trelane throws a tantrum, but his parents remain firm. They then apologize to Kirk, allowing him to beam up to the Enterprise.
Here in the real world, it’s not clear whether we will have a similar happy ending. Fred Trump isn’t likely to save us, and I don't see a lot of swashbuckling heroes like James T. Kirk. Absent that, I’m not at all sure how we escape this weird new existence that seems so alien to many of us.
Beam me up, Scotty!
This week, I was on a CNN panel to discuss Kentucky GOP Governor, Matt Bevin's, loss and what it means for Republicans in 2020.
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