Ode to Power

The rising reign of MAGA

“þæt wæs god cyning”

Alfred the Great is almost a legendary figure, the greatest Saxon king. During his reign English territory is said to have enjoyed an almost faerie-tale like peace across the land, one where none feared to travel on the highways.

His son, Edward the Elder, continued his father’s work, and drove the Norsemen out of southern England.

Alfred’s grandson, Æthelstan, the first king of a united England was arguably as great as his grandfather. He is renowned for his religious devotion as well as his political and military leadership.

Why am I giving you this little history lesson? Because these were real kings, and they were good. This is not some fantasy. Three of the greatest reigns of English kings in history in succession, father to son, son to grandson. From 871 to 939 A.D. these three brought peace, prosperity, and order to their land, and their legacy is immortalized. That is something that really happened, that would have just been the status quo to those living there.

But for hundreds of years the neoliberal political framework has desperately needed you to think that kings like this only ever existed in fairytales. That for the most part, kings have been tyrants, and any good ones were good in spite of the despotic nature of their kingship. Our cultural framework ever since WW2 has told us that “Democracy” with a capital D is inherently good.

That narrative is now falling apart. At the time I began writing this essay Trump had signed 45 executive orders and I am sure there will be more by the time I hit publish. Frankly, the Trump administration is demonstrating the it is actually quite easy to get things done, and their actions are casting a suspicious light on the decades-long ineptitude of the Republican Party to do anything of substance. And people are beginning to realize that they don’t really care about “democracy” at all.

But the question of the moment is not really about democracy or monarchy at all. Discussions about monarchy and the divine right of kings or about the rights of the people to vote can wait for another day. The question of the current moment is about power, and how it should be used.

The aforementioned kings were good because they used their power for good, not because they were kings. Likewise, there have been good democratic governments that were good because they used their powers for good- but not however, because of anything inherently righteous about democracy itself. Power is to be used.

“You can just do things” has been a common refrain the last few weeks. If you take a step back you may see just how ridiculous it is that it is even being said. Of course governments can just do things to benefit their people- that is the entire point of their existence! The fact that an administration doing basic things in the interest of its own country is in any way notable says less about the current administration and more about the absolutely absurdist dystopia we have been living in.

For decades modern “leaders” have not seemed to actually view themselves as real actors with the power to make active change in the world. They just never seemed to actually do anything. I should clarify- they make plenty of shady deals, filled their own pockets, promoted degenerate behaviors and have brought about the complete upheaval of western civilization. They certainly used their power for themselves. What they did not do is anything to better the lives of their people or to increase the prosperity of their lands- the very things that power is intended for. Nothing the Trump administration has done so far is actually particularly shocking or incredible, for the most part they are just doing things that any normal government in a normal era would have done. But these simple actions are having a devastating effect on the neoliberal world order. Their spell is being broken and they are quickly losing their grip over every aspect of our society.

The MAGA administration is unapologetically acting in the interest of America and its people. They are bringing others nations to heel and making it very clear who is going to be running to show from here on out. But the most important thing they do may have nothing to do with any executive orders. MAGA’s greatest legacy may be more philosophical. They may bring about a shift in the American consciousness, a breaking-free from the constant worry about the rules, and democracy, and the constitution, and this or that. We have lived through the era of hand-wringing, scolding liberal bureaucrats. We may finally be entering a time of men of action yet again. The MAGA populist wave may be the beginning of a new era, one where the quality of a government is based purely on how they use their power.

As I prepared to post this essay, President Trump tweeted this:

I don’t think any image could better sum up the present moment. Assuming they are honest and we aren’t being massively conned, MAGA is on a mission to use their power to make real change for the better, and that will be power properly used. This is an era-defining moment.

“þæt wæs god cyning” - “That was a good king”

A famous Old English line from the opening of Beowulf. A great man is remembered as a leader for what he did with his power, for his people, it is as simple as that. MAGA’s legacy will be what they accomplish for the American people and tangentially for the rest of the West. They could strengthen democracy or abolish it, uphold the constitution or rewrite it entirely, it won’t much matter. What matters is that they use their power to leave their people better than they found them. If they do, maybe we could live to see a time where governments actually exist to do good again.