The World 122221

The Second Coming of “The Second Coming”
WB Yeats’ famous poem “The Second Coming” describes
Europe’s atmosphere in 1919. He could feel something bad
coming: “what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
The “rough beast” turned out to be fascism and everybody
paid the price. Including the Fascists.
Are we again at that moment of birth here in America? It
certainly looks like it from where I sit. Almost a year after a
failed attempt to overturn a presidential election, the chief
thief is hard at work around the country–Arizona, Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, elsewhere–ensuring that he cannot
lose the next time. Election laws are being changed and nonpartisan
election officials replaced with hyper-partisans.
The efforts take place in public, abetted by “respected”
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
★★★★
the Rich.” —A Lot of People
I do not understand it when people say “eat the
“Eat
rich.”
I mean, I’m pretty sure that it’s not a literal endorsement of
cannibalism. But it does seem like an endorsement of hating
someone based solely on her current level of wealth, and that
makes no sense to me at all.
If you have a problem with the fact that billionaires have an
outsized influence on the laws and institutions of our society,
I agree with you. If you want to use the power of the government
to take money from the rich and redistribute it elsewhere,
that sounds fairly reasonable. It’s not my cup of tea,
but I respect your opinion.
But hating all rich people? Even if they were born that way?
That’s as grimly absurd as hating all tall people. Or all pretty
people. Or Bulgarians.
In 1939, Katharine Hepburn was an unpopular has-been.
Moviegoers didn’t like her elitist background or WASPy
accent. She had a string of box office failures and RKO
Pictures was delighted to let Hepburn buy out her own contract.
Then, in a brilliant career-saving gambit, Ms. Hepburn sold
the movie rights to “The Philadelphia Story” on the condition
that she be cast as the leading lady.
She chose the perfect movie for her big comeback. “The
Philadelphia Story” an immensely charming comedy. And it’s
also a powerful defense of the wealthy elite and a condemnation
of the haters who mindlessly attack them.
The plot is contrived. Intelligent but insecure Philadelphia
socialite Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is about to be married for the
second time to a plain-spoken industrialist.
Tracy’s sardonic ex-husband, C. K. Dexter Haven (Cary
Grant), has decided to crash the wedding. And to add to the
comedy chaos, he brought some reporters with him to secretly
cover the wedding for the tabloids – including frustrated
writer Mike Connor (Jimmy Stewart).
“The Philadelphia Story” is a breezy romantic comedy, but
Mike is a seriously interesting character.
He gets deeply angry when his boss tells him to write a
story about a society wedding. It would be nice if other tabloid
journalists and paparazzi were as outraged about how idiotic
and destructive their jobs are.
Mike is shocked to find how much he has in common with
Tracy Lord. They talk literature together. They drink. They
dance. They laugh.
Their scenes together are warm and romantic. They nearly
fall in love. But every time Tracy is about to melt into Mike’s
shot while lying on the ground by an officer aiming at the
child’s non-threatening dog a teenager shot by officers after
he dropped his BB gun and raised his hands and an officer
who stole $225,000 while executing a search warrant.
Qualified immunity fosters an environment where some
police may feel empowered to violate people’s rights, knowing
they will face few if any consequences. This legal barrier
erodes relationships with the community and diminishes the
legal system’s credibility.
Legal experts from across the political spectrum agree that
qualified immunity is extreme, unnecessary, and incompatible
with civil rights. The libertarian Cato Institute has said,
“Qualified immunity is one of the most obviously unjustified
legal doctrines in our nation’s history…[It] has failed utterly
as a matter of law, doctrine, and public policy.”
Law enforcement leaders agree. In a letter to Congress
earlier this year, members of the Law Enforcement Action
Partnership (LEAP) wrote, “[W]e believe it is crucial to end a
legal doctrine that has contributed to the erosion of public
• • •
• • •
End Qualified Immunity continued from previous page
• • •
elected officials as well as by extremists who recognize that
they can now leave the dark fringes and enter the main stage.
Congressman Matt Gaetz and Steve Bannon openly discuss
“shock troops” ready to take over the government “when
President Trump wins in 2024 – or before.”
The populace remains largely disengaged from these labor
pains, displaying no urgency to prevent this horrible birth,
while the midwives work feverishly to ensure the birth of the
fascist beast and set it on its slouching way. In Yeats’ words,
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate
intensity.”
Everybody will eventually pay the price. Including the
Fascists.
Lodiza LePore
arms, he spoils the moment by spouting some snide anti-rich
wisecrack. He can’t help himself. It’s like self-taught Tourettes.
One of the impressive aspects of “The Philadelphia Story”
is that it effortlessly argues how wrong Mike is. He should not
judge Tracy because she was born into an upper-class family.
She’s an amazing person.
Katherine Hepburn is timelessly great as a smart, sophisticated,
difficult rich woman. She shows us that patrician
women have challenges, too.
Rich kids have the problem of fathers who have high expectations
and no understanding or tolerance for mediocrity.
We the 99% have the freedom to marry for love alone without
outside interference. For the upper class, marriage is a
family affair with dramatic financial ramifications. Hepburn
helps us feel her pressures, stresses, and complications.
“The Philadelphia Story” is a triumph: funny, engrossing,
and surprising. And it’s a powerful condemnation of people
who mindlessly attack the rich. Class hatred is always an ugly
emotion.
trust in the justice system and made all of us less safe: qualified
immunity.”
Qualified immunity is also a major barrier in the fight for
racial justice. As with almost every aspect of our legal system,
a lack of meaningful police accountability in Vermont has a
disproportionate impact on Black people, who are stopped,
searched, cited, arrested, and subjected to police violence at
far greater rates than white people. Qualified immunity is yet
another inexcusable feature of a legal system virtually defined
by systemic racism.
With Vermont’s legislative leaders considering a bill to
eliminate qualified immunity in the coming legislative session,
Vermont can better ensure that police who violate civil
rights are held accountable and victims of police misconduct
can access justice. A growing number of states have passed or
are considering legislation to eliminate qualified immunity –
Vermont should be next.
James Lyall is Executive Director of the ACLU of Vermont
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December 22, 2021 The WORLD page 13