..from behind,” (well, he and his co-conspirators in the current attempts to utterly destroy not just the U.S. but Western Civilization*) Shelley’s mordant observation about the hubris of egotistic “leaders” of (once) great civilizations may seem optimistic a century from now:
Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”.
Hmmm, “Obamandias”?
*“Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide.” — James Burnham
Leading from behind… just like a Peirson’s Puppeteer?
Send him back to the fleet of worlds!
Actually, Perri, someone drew the Pierson’s Puppeteer comparison over at Jerry Pournelle’s place–Niven’s frequent collaborator. I have to admit, it seems semi-appropriate… and humorous.
Hm.. Barack Obama has been compared to Shelley’s Ozymandias before… http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/barack_ozymandias.html
All of what he’s done is create wrack and ruin – except where others have continued the policies of his predecessors for (or despite) him.
Missed that one, Perri. Thanks for the link.