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Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Hamlet & the CIA

Kean Collection - Staff/Archive Photos/Getty Images

“Treason doth never prosper; what is the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.” – Sir John Harrington.

As Shakespeare would state in his play Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” like a fish that rots from head to tail, so do corrupt government systems rot from top to bottom.

This is a reference to the ruling system of Denmark and not just the foul murder that King Claudius has committed against his brother, Hamlet’s father. This is showcased in the play by reference to the economy of Denmark being in a state of shambles and that the Danish people are ready to revolt since they are on the verge of starving. King Claudius has only been king for a couple of months, and thus this state of affairs, though he inflames, did not originate with him.

Thus, during our time of great upheaval we should ask ourselves; what constitutes the persisting “ruling system,” of the United States, and where do the injustices in its state of affairs truly originate from?

The tragedy of Hamlet does not just lie in the action (or lack of action) of one man, but rather, it is contained in the choices and actions of all its main characters. Each character fails to see the longer term consequences of their own actions, which leads not only to their ruin but towards the ultimate collapse of Denmark. The characters are so caught up in their antagonism against one another that they fail to foresee that their very own destruction is intertwined with the other.
I've never read Hamlet, though I've probably seen the movie, and I've never looked into it, so Ms. Chung's assertions clarify a murky area in my mind. Of course, not having anything to compare it with, I can't know how accurate her assessment is.

But all that is just setting the scene. Mostly she is excoriating the US government's handling of the CIA.

I haven't read the whole thing, but so far it's pretty good. But now I have to head over to the new house and figure out how we're going to handle an HVAC problem.



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