The Road to Scusi

It has often been said that Obama supporters, and the left in general, are Anti-American, or some derivative thereof. I'd like to propose an alternative hypothesis. To do so, I have chosen to conscript America's second Poet laureate, Richard Wilbur.

It is a cramped little state with no foreign policy,
Save to be thought inoffensive. The grammar of the language
Has never been fathomed, owing to the national habit
Of allowing each sentence to trail off in confusion.
Those who have visited Scusi, the capital city,
Report that the railway-route from Schuldig passes
Through country best described as unrelieved.
Sheep are the national product. The faint inscription
Over the city gates may perhaps be rendered,
"I'm afraid you won't find much of interest here."
Census-reports which give the population
As zero are, of course, not to be trusted,
Save as reflecting the natives' flustered insistence
That they do not count, as well as their modest horror
Of letting one's sex be known in so many words.
The uniform grey of the nondescript buildings, the absence
Of churches or comfort-stations, have given observers
An odd impression of ostentatious meanness,
And it must be said of the citizens (muttering by
In their ratty sheepskins, shying at cracks in the sidewalk)
That they lack the peace of mind of the truly humble.
The tenor of life is careful, even in the stiff
Unsmiling carelessness of the border-guards
And douaniers, who admit, whenever they can,
Not merely the usual carloads of deodorant
But gypsies, g-strings, hasheesh, and contraband pigments.
Their complete negligence is reserved, however,
For the hoped-for invasion, at which time the happy people
(Sniggering, ruddily naked, and shamelessly drunk)
Will stun the foe by their overwhelming submission,
Corrupt the generals, infiltrate the staff,
Usurp the throne, proclaim themselves to be sun-gods,
And bring about the collapse of the whole empire.

I believe Plato described his Republic as "man writ large", but then again, who would know if he didn't?? Without elaborating I will just say that interactive relationships among mutually exclusive entities (aka language, or talking to each other) is is what makes such a description inaccurate. Why we shouldn't see a society/city/nation or whatever as functioning similarly to an individual person is my point. We need each other to function as human. Nations don't work like that; they ARE the people.

So, we have Richard Wilbur playing on that kind of idea except his Republic or "cramped little state" is one in which the man being "writ large" is in a state of chronic shame. The "moral" if you will, (I will...) is that we should be able to see how being so ashamed of ourselves can lead such ugly ridiculousness. The denizens of Shame are beyond help. Only a Messiah could save them. Left unchecked, their influence will only metastasize.

Get over it.
McCain '08