The party was a smashing success.
With virtually every member of Long Island's A-list in attendance, it had been the foremost event on midsummer's social calendar. From the entertainment provided to the food served to the weather
conditions, all
aspects of the festivities had gone
without a hitch. Many had such a good time that they did not leave until just before dawn, drunkenly singing and laughing as they poured into their respective automobiles.
Nonetheless, the man responsible for the bash, a lonely, reclusive billionaire, felt strongly disappointed at what had taken place. Voicing his feelings aloud as his trusted, and only, friend walked up alongside him, he declared that the now-married love of his life, whom he invited, did not have a good time. Determined to, in his own words, "fix everything" by recreating the era in which they both were in a relationship, he first stops to hear a few words of advice. "You can't repeat the past," his friend warns. Taken aback, the billionaire replies, "Can't repeat the past? Of course you can!"
So goes the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. In the end, of course, as anyone who has read F. Scott Fitzgerald's immortal 1925 tale of the American Dream gone awry very well knows, the former pays the price in kind for his ruthless pursuance of that which is already far behind him in life. The moral of The Great Gatsby applies to today's political landscape, particularly regarding the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, with frightening accuracy. It appears that with each passing day, Sarah Palin is increasingly considering making a go at the White House. While there is only a minimal chance that she could conceivably claim victory in most of her party's state primaries, and absolutely no chance of her defeating Barack Obama in the ensuing general election, the fact that so many who participate in our country's electoral process somehow believe her to be qualified for the presidency is more than slightly disconcerting.
No comments:
Post a Comment