Tag Archives: Dick Cheney

Hilaire Belloc, ‘On a General Election’

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The accursed power which stands on Privilege
(And goes with Women, and Champagne, and Bridge)
Broke—and Democracy resumed her reign:
(Which goes with Bridge, and Women and Champagne).

**

It is nice to see American democracy, flawed as it is, starting to restore itself. Welcome back, America! We don’t entirely trust you and your archaic mindset, but you have a lot of strengths.

Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953) was a prolific Anglo-French author, best known today for his ‘Cautionary Tales for Children‘ (“Matilda: Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death”, etc). His 1923 ‘On a General Election’ has a universal and timeless quality to it – though the introduction of women as players instead of game pieces over the past 100 years has arguably raised the level of honesty and morality… somewhat. You may disagree with the politics of both Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, but there is still a difference of political character between them.

Image: “Corruption box” by watchsmart is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Poem: “Agenda for a Political Career”

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Help the peaceniks
With their cut-backs
To the Army,
It’s fulfilling;

Once elected,
Buy cheap arms stocks,
Start a war and
Make a killing.

This poem was originally published in Lighten Up Online, edited by Jerome Betts. I dislike war, but even more I loathe “chicken hawks“, those who personally avoided combat when their country called them up but who later in their careers advocated war and made a fortune from it. That includes a lot of American politicians.

Good guys: Eisenhower and his military-industrial complex warning. Kennedy, assassinated when he was trying to pull US troops out of Vietnam. Jimmy Carter. All military men who understood war.

Total jerks: Johnson, ramping up the Vietnam war while everyone was distracted by the Kennedy funeral. Kissinger even more than Nixon. Cheney even more than George W. Bush. Trump. Chicken hawks.

The US doesn’t have a monopoly on avaricious politicians. The UK’s Tony Blair has been rewarded by the world of oil and wars to the extent of acquiring an estimated $90 million and a property portfolio worth $37.5 million in the first eight years since leaving office (i.e. 2007-2015).