Is There a Pence Defense?

Column by Paul Hein.

Exclusive to STR

On October 18 of last year, Vice President-elect Michael Pence went to see the play Hamilton in Manhattan. The producer of that show, Jeffrey Seller, and the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, were not Pence fans. Indeed, Miranda was an outspoken fan of Hillary during the campaign, inspired, no doubt, by her honesty, intelligence, and virtue. Thus it was not surprising that they should take advantage of Pence’s presence to lecture him on the proper way to govern, based, no doubt, upon the way that Hillary herself would govern, had she been elected.

The cast of the production had been traumatized by Hillary’s loss, according to Seller. “We had to ask ourselves, how do we cope with this? Our cast could barely go on stage the day after the election. The election was painful and crushing to all of us here.” Oh, how these delicate souls must have suffered! Evidently not at all painful to them, though, was their candidate’s acceptance of the killing of the unborn before, or even during, delivery, or American diplomats being murdered in Bengazi after seeking protection from Clinton, and being denied it.

Speaking for the show’s producers and cast, Hamilton actor Brandon Dixon, after the final curtain, unburdened himself. “We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that you and your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us. Again, we truly thank you for sharing this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds, and orientations.”

Ah, the hubris! The puerility! We note the word “diverse,” which is so beloved by those who would condemn anyone whose views are diverse from their own! And the emphasis upon the word “all of us,” as subjects for whom Pence should work. It would seem that Dixon, and those for whom he spoke, are unaware of the most basic operations of government as an agency giving benefits to some at the expense of others. A government that works for “all of us” has never existed, and never will. Could the Hamilton group really believe that Hillary would work for “all of us”? Even those among us who have not donated to the Clinton Foundation?

How could Pence have replied to this? He could not defend himself, because he had been accused of nothing. No charges were made. Could he insist that he would work to uphold their “inalienable rights”? No politician does that, although they all promise to do so. A very fundamental inalienable right is the right to property, and taxation violates that right, giving the taxing authorities a greater claim upon your property than you have! Would Mr. Dixon have the administration abolish taxation? Never! That would be WAY too diverse! Could Pence insist that he would protect them, the planet, the children, the parents? Sure he could. Politicians always do. The promise of defense is offered to obtain the subservience of the people, but it’s a sham. The Rulers are under no legal obligation to protect anybody. Indeed, it is obvious that they could not possibly do so, even were they so inclined. No doubt Mr. Pence was well-protected by Secret Service agents. Could he provide similar protection to the onstage protestors? Of course not.

The Hamilton episode is informative. It displays the political naivete of individuals who, sadly, are probably representative of a great many Americans, believing that if THEIR candidate is elected, the future will be rosy, peace will blossom throughout the world, people will be nice to one another, and the planet Earth, having survived for millions of years, will continue surviving.

And, even sadder, politicians will continue to promise these things, as they have always done, but never accomplished.

0
Your rating: None
Paul Hein's picture
Columns on STR: 150

Comments

D. Saul Weiner's picture

Clearly, these thespians have overactive imaginations and they can conjure up all kinds of fantasies and horror stories about how government operates.

That type of ability may be very useful in bringing a script into production, but in the political realm it can only serve to disconnect the actors from reality and produce a false consciousness among audience members.

Jim Davies's picture

Pence wasn't V-P elect until November 8th. Re-phrase line 1?