Sep 06 2009
Who would be a statesman?
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose:
“A statesman in these days has a difficult task. He has to pursue the policy he deems advantageous to his country, but he has at the same time to recognize the force of popular feeling. Popular feeling is very often sentimental, muddleheaded, and eminently unsound, but it cannot be disregarded for all that.” Hercule Poirot in “The Incredible Theft” by Agatha Christie (1931).
There is no “wisdom” in the crowd, there never was. The mob sinks to its lowest common denominator and drags us all down with it.