Shakespeare writes of the Montagues and the Capulets who harbor an ancient grudge which fluctuates in intensity over a great period of time. These Shakespearean families are embattled, and we never really uncover the source of their quarrel. Blood is spilling in the streets and their children are in a precarious situation. Are these people so uncaring that they cannot search for a remedy?

Lady Montague doesn’t want her husband involved in a fight and is worried about her family, so she makes attempts at conciliation. Lady Capulet, in near hysteria, demands vengeance for old, possibly imagined wounds and so both of their offspring are sacrificed for her stubborn pride.

The updated Shakespearean drama in this country today is way past the issue of two families fighting, or to be more precise, two political parties going head to head. The President - in this Administration - came into office seeking vengeance for his father, for real or imagined injuries, and to pursue a course that his father had more wisely abandoned. To achieve his goals, the son invented a reason to go to war, pretending that there were no alternatives and ignoring the collateral damage from such a step. Like Lady Capulet, he wanted his revenge and it didn’t matter how it was achieved. He didn’t consider the death count of American lives, or the innocent civilians, including children, whose survival was threatened by a churlish war fought for the wrong reasons.

Unlike the era in which Shakespeare lived, this country is not a personal fiefdom for any one man or group of men. The settlers of this country were escapees, escaping from religious persecution, abrogation of personal freedoms and in many cases, restrictive class systems which were determinants in how a life could be lived. When they arrived on these shores, the Lady Capulets and Montagues were left behind along with the rest of the royals. Our history is a mélange of stories of the rise from rags to riches, without regard to our origins.

Unfortunately, in every society there are those who use power and/ or wealth to achieve their personal goals, despising those who have neither. The Shakespearean drama unfolds as the warlocks “toil and trouble” to stir their nefarious brew, chanting, “Something wicked this way comes.” Into the cauldron goes a mix of Patriot Act with a potent seasoning of curtailment of personal freedoms; next is a strong oil base of such brands as Halliburton, and Boots and Coots International Well Control out of Houston to control oil catastrophes such as fires. The third ingredient is repeal or minimization of environmental protection issues. The fourth ingredient is chicanery, the most potent of all and one that allows all sorts of things to transpire or not, depending on the whims of the pot stirrer. Enhanced education or not for our children, health coverage for our citizens or not, protection of pensions and social security or not, tax breaks for the wealthy( chicanery does not allow for “or not” with this issue).
So impressive is the skillful use of chicanery by these warlocks that one is not surprised by its use not only in the pot but outside as well. The drama continues to unfold and we advance to the denouement. Will the King – oops- President prevail, with his warlocks who have set their course to the destruction of what America truly means? If the reigning publicans have their way with us, we may have fought for our freedom and constructed a Constitution which is no longer the flawless document our forefathers created. As the winds shift, will the fumes of the noxious brew envelop the populace and will they take steps to clear the air?

Will they look at their leaders with an eye towards change, and say ( with thanks to W.Shakespeare) “Let none presume to wear an undeserved dignity. O! that estates, degrees, and offices were not deriv’d corruptly, and that clear honor were purchased by the merit of the wearer.”