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Dear Readers,
In the aftermath of the U.S. Presidential election, with President
Xi Jinping of China and other world leaders congratulating U.S.
President-Elect Joseph Biden, the world watches and wonderswhile
drama continues to unfold as current President Donald Trump refuses
to concede his loss. Yet insight on this situation may be gained
from another drama, the Shakespeareanfictional tale of Romeo and
Juliet, a classic of western literature. While most well known as a
tragic tale of star crossed lovers, the story of Romeo and Juliet
contains an overarching, symbolic representation of tragedy which
may ensue when parties, be they anywhere on the spectrum from
individuals to nations, refuse to set aside their enmity and work
toward peace.
The characters Romeo and Juliet are members of very powerful
rival familieswhose age-old vendetta resulted in a cycle of
vengeance and bloodshed as we see from the opening lines of the
play:
“Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
Fortunately, U.S. Presidential elections are not known to result in
bloodshed, however, as the wise and late historians Will and Ariel
Durant have noted, civilized people now consume each other through
the legal process, writing:
“Animals eat one another without qualm; civilized men consume one
another by due process of law.1”
Indeed, we now see that multitudinous lawsuits have been filed
contesting President Trump’s losswith President Trump expressing his
opinion that President-elect Biden could not have won fairly.Here
again, we may look to Romeo and Juliet for a parallel, as a mere
four years ago, President Trump’s then opponent, Hillary
Clinton,while promptly conceding her loss, none-the-less expressed
her opinion that Russia had interfered in the U.S. election,
favoring Donald Trump. Fortunately, not through bloodshed, but
through the legal process an investigation was instituted which in
the end determined that there was not sufficient evidence to
conclude that either Donald Trump or his associates colluded with
Russia. Similarly, I believe it is fair to predict that when all of
the current lawsuits resolve, it will be more than clear that
President-elect Biden has won fairly, indeed, there is overwhelming
evidence of that now.
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The story of Romeo and Juliet ends in heartbreak, and it is only
through the death of the young lovers that their families, the
Montagues and the Capulets reconcile, with Juliet’s father
exclaiming “O brother Montague, give me thy hand” and laments the
deceased couple as poor sacrifices of their enmity.
The United States is a young country andhistory shows there are
people, cultures and nationswhich have born animosity toward each
other for literally thousands of years. Yet the entire world now
stands at a precipice, for life is being lost throughout the globe
due to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, and it is time
for all to reconcile, to reach out their hands, from individuals to
nations.
President-elect Biden is calling for unity and common purpose,
delivering the important message: “We need to remember we’re at war
with the virus, not with one another. Not with each other.”
It is my hope that before he leaves office, President Trump may see
that it is through strength that reconciliation occurs and that even
when out of office, he can play a significant role in uniting the
country, if only he will choose to do so.
If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me at ecj2@cynthiascenturies.net
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1Durant, Will and Ariel. The Lessons of History.New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1968 p. 19
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