Corioli: An Open Letter to Nicholas Kristof

In response to Nicholas Kristof's column, "Crowning Prince George", today in the NY Times, my open response:

Mr. Kristof et al,

You may or may not remember me. More than likely, you won't. I write on occasion. I've been following you and your wife's writing since going to China in 1996, when I read your excellent book as an introduction to my wild adventure there. Today I am a Baruch School of Public Affairs MPA student, a nonprofit project leader, and . . . the founder of a new nonprofit, Shakespearean theatre company: GroundLinks.

On today's column, regarding Shakespeare, I welcome your literary discourse in the context of politics (being a political scientist). I even welcome your contemporary comparisons. However, I disagree with your raking of the President over the literary coals in the name of Shakespeare.
Coriolanus is, in my mind, one of the most complex and brilliant plays of the Bard--and also one of my favorites. Let me remind you that Coriolanus was a patriot. Despite the fact that he fights against Rome by the end, he does so only because he felt betrayed by his people, the Romans. He eschews politics: he hates the games of kowtowing to the masses. These reasons (and his mother!) are what drive him away from Rome, his beloved city-state. He was a warrior; he wanted to win. Yes, in this way, the President may be like Coriolanus (despite malapropisms to the contrary)! God-willing we will "win" in this fight for our survival! But President Bush is a politician. He is decisive and steadfast (even if you disagree with his decisions). He is a patriot (even if you disagree with the definition of such) . . . . And he would never fight for our modern Corioli: Iran, North Korea, (insert unstable state or terrorist group of choice here).

And regarding hubris, allow me to paraphrase: let him without sin cast the first stone. If we expect our "princes" to be perfect, then a fate far worse than that of Coriolanus, Hamlet, . . . or Rome itself awaits us. Such a fate might in fact befall us someday, but I would venture to say not because of our princes or our politics but because of ourselves, because of the hubris that we all innately embody and because of our collective missteps as a people disconnected from the Globe.

Respectfully, a groundling,
Jonathan Vaughn
President & Producing Director, GroundLinks Theatre Company
and
Senior Blogger, newrepublicans
http://newrepublicans.blogspot.com/

PS-Our first GroundLinks production is Halloween weekend. . . (respond if curious!).