The ancient folktale about a shepherd boy who defeats a ferocious, gigantic warrior has become one of the most widely known story types in the world. Not only was it incorporated into the Bible and imbued with religious significance, but it’s also filtered its way into the lore of other cultures, appearing in the guise of Jack and the Beanstalk, The Brave Little Tailor, and other tales.
The motif has become so deeply ingrained into the collective psyche that we’re constantly on the lookout for real-time parallels — and indeed we’ve even come to expect them.
Which might be why so many people were stunned and shocked by the 2016 presidential election. The Donald totally blindsided them. But he really shouldn’t have.
His fans no doubt would like to cast him in the role of David. But he qualified as an underdog only on two counts: he was behind in the polls, and he had no qualifications or experience relevant to the position. But in every other way, he was about as Goliath as they get.
One of the (allegedly) richest men in the world, he has spent his entire life having people pamper him and cater to him. He is the embodiment of schoolyard bullying, of anti-intellectualism, of all that is vile, nasty, corrupt, hateful and cruel.
And he has powerful allies, including the American media – which trumped up and trumpeted phony “scandals” about his opponent while burying dozens of very real scandals about him. Even the director of the FBI violated the agency’s own directives to interfere in the election on his behalf. Under the circumstances, it would have been a miracle if Hillary Clinton had won. And miracles are in very short supply – that’s what makes them miracles.
Here’s an uncomfortable fact that they neglect to teach you in Sunday school: Goliath usually wins. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be particularly remarkable for a shepherd boy to bring him down. Before that fateful encounter, the obnoxious brute already had dispatched a number of worthy opponents. David typifies the hope that there is always hope if we act courageously in the face of evil, no matter how overwhelming the evil; and that sometimes one defeat of Goliath makes up for all the times he’s won.
Another important truth to remember is one so succinctly articulated by Tony Kushner in Angels In America: “The world only spins forward.” Civilization will keep advancing no matter how many obstacles Goliath throws in its path. Sometimes it will take two steps forward and one step back – or sometimes even (as we’ve just seen) vice versa. But overall, it keeps progressing.
African-Americans struggled for centuries against the Goliath of racism (which still isn’t dead but at least has been crippled). They faced bondage, lynchings, beatings, torture, discrimination and oppression before civil rights advances and even the election of a black president.
Gays have faced a similar Goliath, and have received comparable treatment. But eventually they were represented with respect in the media and by the law, and some have become openly gay elected officials. Today, they even can get married. What makes that miracle even more miraculous is that the change was delivered by a Supreme Court dominated by right-wingers. (It’s worth noting that the oppression of both groups, like many other social injustices, was fervently endorsed by Christian zealots — who now are beside themselves with ecstasy over Trump’s win.)
The world only spins forward.
During that same week in November when America officially embraced fascism, the world lost visionary singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen, whose distant relatives were murdered back when Europe officially embraced fascism. That weekend, Saturday Night Live faced a dilemma: was it appropriate to open the week’s episode with the customary light-heartedness after such a heavy double dose of sadness?
The solution was simple, elegant and powerful. Kate McKinnon, who had been portraying Hillary Clinton in the program’s satirical skits, sat at the piano and accompanied herself singing Cohen’s somber anthem Hallelujah – which coincidentally opens with a reference to that fabled shepherd king of Israel who once toppled a giant. At the song’s conclusion, McKinnon turned to the camera tearfully and said, “I’m not giving up. And neither should you.”
No, you shouldn’t. The world only spins forward. Fascism has been defeated once, and will be defeated again.
Goliath usually wins. But he can’t go on winning forever.
The Propaganda Professor 
This is a truly touching touching piece. I witnessed Kate Mckinnon’s heartfelt rendition of the beautiful song, “Hallelujah,” as well as having heard some of the frequently scathing comments made by many of our late night comedians who eventually decided to just admit the truth and aim their swords of satire in opposition to the many of the extreme fascist like politicians who are playing us all for fools by saying and doing anything at all to get elected—even if those includes brazen lies. So I really appreciate this post which affirms humanity’s own awareness of its ability to discard false racist, and malicious rhetoric.
It’s very true that all too often the Goliaths of the world win, but seldom does that victory go unchallenged by the simple and ordinary people of this world who really want to live their lives in relative security, and to raise their children in a way that improve their lives in the future. It’s only the big shots and heavys of this world who seem to think nothing of twisting the truth to suit their own selfish, power hungry desires. With that in mind, I think it should be genuinely concerning to all of us just to realize that, although Trump may claim to reject white national ideology and racism, and may not truly be a Nazi himself, the fact that his campaign attracted such a large number of people who openly embrace such rotten values, should be enough cause for our concerns.
We also need to take heart in the fact that those who have seen the need to resist or destroy the goliaths of the world, are not just members of a recent or fleeting fraternity composed of hope.
In the 1960s, our pop radio stations featured the beautiful sentiments expressed as the life’s love and hopes of a very spiritual and unknown ally of the truth whose words were discovered in The Old St. Paul Church in Baltimore—written and recorded there in 1692. Here is a small excerpt of his life wisdom. It’s form a work titled “THE DESIDERATA;”
“Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the World is full of trickery, but let this not blind you to what virtue there is. Many person’s strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be Yourself. Especially do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.”
POP, this small article of yours is one more example of David aiming his sling direclty at the face of power mongering and corruption, and I thank you for expressing it so well. As an American President who refused to back down to Goliath, or to the terrific onslaught of propaganda, lies, and obstruction—and who will ultimately be appreciated for his tenacity while working tirelessly to change our country and the world for the better, while steering it towards the right side of history said, in this admittedly (inexact quote of MLK)—The arc of justice may be long, and be slow to bend in the direction of justice, but it eventually does bend in the direction of justice and truth.”
Its important that we hear more of the things written by writers and journalists, including this article of yours, because it is one more example of David loading his sling and letting it fly in defense of truth love and justice. Thanks POP!
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always.”
Mahatma Gandhi
I didn’t think I would post anymore on DJ Trump (don’t think I’ll be here much longer in my return to POP) but am replying because some of the things posted here, I don’t think you believe but will reply. With David vs. Goliath, while that was a war fight, David later in life was a murderer. David sent a man to the front line in a war & had soldiers abandon him, leaving the man to be killed by the enemy, so that David could have the man’s wife. Some Christians have told me that David was worse than Goliath, in that though Goliath was fighting for the wrong side, Goliath was a soldier doing a job. Goliath was a big man who killed many enemies in a war, but he did that as a soldier killing enemies. David had a man killed so that he could have his wife.
Though I’m not Christian, Christians agree with me not to fault soldiers for killing their enemies in a fight, even if they’re fighting for the wrong cause, as long as they don’t kill POW, etc. During WW2, if the Axis soldiers (German, Japanese & Italian) killed enemies in a war fight but did not commit war atrocities such as rape women,maim POW, etc. then I won’t fault the Axis soldiers for just doing what soldiers did. War atrocities such as Bataan where POW were killed with bayonets, etc. is wrong because that is murdering people who have surrendered. POW must not be harmed.
But is Pres. DJ Trump Goliath? He is a Goliath when as a businessman. He is as I said in another DJ Trump rude, arrogant & haughty. He is a billionaire. Of course, rich people such as him, Oprah, etc. are money Goliaths, with Oprah being a woman Goliath. But I won’t fault DJ Trump & Oprah for being money Goliaths, because they earned it by their success.
You said that DJ Trump has powerful media allies, but I don’t think you believe this. Pres. DJ Trump has some media allies such as Fox News, alternative medias like WND, columnist Patrick J. Buchanan and radio host Rush H. Limbaugh. Almost all the other media in the US such as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN & PBS were hostile to DJ Trump. Even Fox News, where many anchors supported DJ Trump for President has been a disappointment, with many complaining that Fox has become too much like CNN.
Most Internet media such as Daily Kos, Huffington Post, Media Matters, etc. were hostile to DJ Trump. Almost all the media opposed DJ Trump for President, which is why I don’t think you believe DJ Trump has powerful media allies, because mainstream media was hostile to DJ Trump be they networks, newspapers and Internet sites.
Though evangelical Christians usu. voted for DJ Trump, in the beginning, many were against him getting nominated. In March 2016, Mission America’s radio hostess Linda P. Harvey spoke against DJ Trump & she was saying that Ted Cruz (Rafael Edward Cruz) should be the next President. After DJ Trump won, then Linda P. Harvey supported DJ Trump for President, by saying that Hillary would be a bad choice. Christians have told me that they voted for DJ Trump for Presidency because they think he is the lesser of the 2 bads when compared to Hillary. Time will tell if DJ Trump said what he believes or will DJ Trump become a RINO (Republican in Name Only)?
As posters know, I did not vote for any of the candidates because I don’t like Sen. Hillary Diane Clinton or DJ Trump. I thought Hillary was going to win & she did win the popular vote while losing electoral college. But I think people are dishonest when they say things like DJ Trump had powerful media allies because based on the few times I watch American media, almost all of them were biased against him.
Celebrities were mostly against DJ Trump for President. DJ Trump got some famous sports people to support him. But for most part, Sen. Hillary Diane Clinton had the advantage when it came to people supporting her for President such as most media, celebrities, etc. With all that, DJ Trump won the Presidency.
If you repeat something false (or lie) many times unchallenged, that people will believe the false statement. CBS, NBC, ABC & most media incl. Media matters repeat false statements about DJ Trump hoping that people will believe that. But as I said in the other Trump post, many people don’t trust the media on some topics such as the 2016 Presidential election. Here’s a Gallup article which shows this http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx
Mainstream media is not credible on some topics such as 2016 Presidential election. I think what reporters from CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN,etc. along with journalists for most newspapers hope that if they repeat the same things about DJ Trump unchallenged, that people will believe what they say but many aren’t.
Most people who watch CBS, NBC, ABC, etc. already agree with the journalists bias against DJ Trump. While the many who don’t trust the mainstream media bias against DJ Trump often tune out because they’ve heard it so many times before that there’s not much to regard. Again if NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, etc. are all saying the same things with same views, not much to consider. That’s why it’s no surprise that mainstream media like CBS, ABC, etc. has lost credibility on some topics and have lost ratings because many people are tuning out.
I have other things to add, with the part POP wrote about slavery. First & finally on DJ Trump, he won the election fairly. When Pres. Obama when the election & reelection in 2008 & 2012, I did not protest because Pres. Obama won fair. People must accept DJ Trump winning election fairly.
With the part POP wrote about slavery, slavery was wrong. Whites had no right to kidnap Africans & bring them here as slaves. Must say that it was Blacks who kidnapped other Blacks & sold them to Whites. People are same everywhere-White, Black, American Indian, etc. With slavery, while there are strong Whites, on average, Black men are stronger than White men & reason Whites were able to enslave Blacks is because Whites had better weapons & military strategies. If African nations had the better weapons & military strategies, then instead of Whites enslaving Blacks, it would’ve been Blacks enslaving Whites because people are the same everywhere.
Blacks, Native Americans etc. must be treated fairly as all other groups. They must have = rights to jobs, etc. If a Black man or an American Indian commits a crime, then they must get = punishment as any1 else regardless, with no cruel and unusual punishment. All ethnic groups must be treated fairly.
Though POP didn’t raise it here, would like to add here about American Indians or Native Americans. Yes, this nations treatment of American Indians was arrogant & wars were used to take land from American Indians. Truth about greed is that Whites were just better in greed. Before the Whites, American Indians when they wanted land be it living grounds, hunting grounds, burial grounds & fishing waters got it from other tribes by wars. When the Whites came, they wanted the same things & more be they metals such as iron, gold, silver, copper & bronze.
Truth is that when people get advanced & complicated in their technologies, the more they want. People are just potentially greedy. If American Indian tribes (esp. tribes like the Sioux, Comanches, Apaches, Aztecs, etc.) had better weapons & capabilities, they would have been conquering other places in the world & imposing their laws on others. Whites ( I’m not White) had better military capability or capacity, but when it comes to thinking, they’re the same. People are the same everywhere-Whites, Blacks, American Indians, etc. What I’ve found with Native Americans or American Indians is that many times when they talk of ‘stolen land’ what they imply is ‘you did what I wanted to do.’ That still doesn’t excuse fact this nation’s treatment of American Indians was arrogant but when you have the view of ‘you did what I wanted to do’ then you’re no better than what you say to be against.
Other things to add is that with Goliath-you must have courage to fight and die for what you want. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Axis Japan were greedy but they were not cowards & Axis Japanese soldiers fought and died for what they believed & Fascist Italian soldiers fought & died for what they wanted. Nazi German soldiers fought and died for what they wanted. Nazis were greedy but they fought & died for what they wanted and you Nazi soldiers did have courage fighting in battles such as Kursk, Nazi soldiers were not cowards, in that in Stalingrad & Leningrad battles, you must have courage. German Nazi soldiers talk of how they destroyed 3 Soviet tanks in battle.
& dictators try to find excuses to justify their greed. In worst cases, ethnic violence was committed by Poles & Czechs (more so by Poles)against their German neighbors for years. Polish writings from 1848 talked about how Germans are lower than dogs, among other things.
Hitler exploited fact that Poles & Czechs mistreated German neighbors to justify his greed. Of course most Germans living in Czechoslovakia & Poland supported Nazis because among other reasons, they no longer wanted to be mistreated by their neighbors. If Poles & Czechs better treated their German neighbors, then instead of 95% of Germans living in Poland & Czechoslovakia supporting Nazis, the # would have been less. Hitler would have still invaded, but @least there would’ve been more Germans opposing the Nazis than supporting their invasion.
Nazi Germany had no right to invade Poland, no right to take Czechoslovakia by war declaration threat (violating 1938 Munich Agreement with Sudeten) as their motive was lebensraum , Germans living in Poland & Czechoslovakia were poorly treated by their Polish & Czech neighbors (Germans sometimes took Polish & Czech names to try to avoid persecution) & in some cases there was violence committed by Poles & Czechs against their German neighbors in Poland & Czechoslovakia.
Hitler would have invaded Poland regardless but if Polish treatment of their German neighbors had been good, then fewer Germans living in Poland would have supported Nazi invasion. Again, while Nazi Germany had no right to invade Poland, etc. as they were doing that mainly for Nazi Germany’s interest against others, Germans were poorly treated in Poland for many years, long before Hitler was born.
An edit-Mission America Radio hostess Linda P. Harvey in March 2016 was against DJ Trump being the next President, where she talked of how Ted Cruz (Rafael Edward Cruz) should be the next Pres. But after DJ Trump won the Republican nomination, then Mission America’s Linda P. Harvey supported DJ Trump & told listeners to vote for DJ Trump rather than Hillary, where she talked of why Hillary would be bad choice.
As posters know, I have commented on other websites, though I don’t post as much as I used to, as the topics rerun the same things, which will happen with Pres. DJ Trump. W/O rerunning what I have said on homosexuality, as POP doesn’t want me commenting on that anymore, posters know that my views have offended gays who don’t like what I write. I mostly copy/paste or copy&paste on that topic on different sites, because there isn’t much new to regard.
Even on some topics such as race & ethnic conflicts, it ends up being the same things said. I support = rights for all ethnic groups-White, Black, American Indian, Asian, etc. But it gets old to hear the same race topics. Blacks and Native Americans deserve to be treated fairly. If a Black man or a Native American man got more punishment than a White man for committing the same crime with same circumstances, then that is wrong & must be solved. If a Black man or an American Indian man was discriminated against in a job, then that must be solved.
I have read comments by Whites raising the fact that they treat Blacks, American Indians & other groups fairly & that it’s wrong to condemn them for past wrongs which happened long ago, such as slavery. I believe it’s wrong to condemn people for past wrongs & what matters is that they are fair. But there are Blacks, American Indians who condemn Whites no matter how fair a White person is. This condemning is wrong. If a White person treats a Black, American Indian, etc. fairly, then don’t make an issue. American Indian groups have been arrogant, haughty & complain too much than try to solve problems impacting them today.
I’ve found with Native Americans or American Indians is that many times when they talk of ‘stolen land’ what they imply is ‘you did what I wanted to do.’ There was greed & arrogance on both the Whites & Native American sides. That still doesn’t excuse fact this nation’s treatment of American Indians was arrogant but when you have the view of ‘you did what I wanted to do’ then you’re no better than what you say to be against.
But to final thing on DJ Trump. What will happen with Pres. DJ Trump is that most media will decry DJ Trump. We’ll see Huffington Post, Daily Kos, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN & other news networks bashing DJ Trump. Guessing that Propaganda Professor or POP will write more during DJ Trump’s term decrying President DJ Trump, as has been done here with Goliath, which is free speech right to say it.
I think POP knows that with DJ Trump, people who either are for or against DJ Trump will go to sites which agree with them. People who don’t like Pres. DJ Trump will go to the main news networks, Huffington Post, Daily Kos and article blogs which are hostile to him such as this article. Those who support Pres. DJ Trump will go to sites which support him. & it ends up being the same things said.
While Propaganda Professor (POP) did write about Goliath, which I haven’t read anywhere else, the main ideas of what he wrote attacking DJ Trump inc. implying he’s a Nazi, White supremacist, etc., has been repeated many times. I don’t think you believe DJ Trump is a Nazi. I didn’t hear President elect DJ Trump suggest that concentration camps & ghettos be made for ethnic groups & I don’t see military buildup for invading other nations for lebensraum or living room.
Have things to think about Pres. elect DJ Trump. Is he a snob? Pres. elect DJ Trump is as said arrogant, haughty & rude. Pres. elect DJ Trump is a snob in that he thinks that because he is a successful businessman & billionaire, that money can get the things he want. Money does give advantages in life. Now is Pres. elect DJ Trump a snob when it comes to people who make less than he does? If Pres. elect DJ Trump has friends who are blue collar workers like welders or mechanics, then he wouldn’t be a snob in that he is willing to be friends with those who earn less. While it’s possible, it would be odd if Pres. elect DJ Trump has friends who earn less such as blue collar workers.
Pres. elect DJ Trump or any1 who is rich, have advantages that most people don’t have. While being rich doesn’t mean 1 is happy (there are sad rich people), being rich does give you advantages such as having enough food, a nice house, traveling to nice places & luxury cars like a Porsche or Ferrari.
But people can be rich, have life’s advantages, but still not be happy. With rich you have 2 extremes. On 1 extreme, you have the rich snobs, & then on other extreme, you have people who are jealous because you’re rich and they’re not. Pres. elect DJ Trump has many who are jealous of his wealth & has met many such people in their life. If you’re rich, then be happy that you have life’s advantages but don’t look down on people who earn less. If you’re poor, then don’t be jealous of people who are rich but think of what you can do to make more money.
Why do rich people often only have rich friends? It’s because people assoc. with those they relate to. It’s also again when you’re rich, there are going to be others who are jealous of you. There are people who like what you have & hope you can help them financially. For eg. let’s say a rich kid buys other kids gifts. The kids like the rich kids nice gifts and act like they’re the rich kid’s friends. Now let’s say the rich kid’s family later has money problems and the kid no longer buys the other kids gifts. After this, the kids stop assoc. with that kid. The kids liked the nice gifts the rich kid gave them, but didn’t care about the kid as a person.
Those are the things rich people sometimes face, so while being rich gives you advantages, rich people sometimes face others who are jealous of them, want things from the, etc. Pres. elect DJ Trump knows about these things as he is a billionaire, incl. people who pretend to be your friend when what they like is what you have & hope you can buy them these things.
[…] We want to believe that we can fend off the wolf at the door, blow up the Death Star, topple Goliath singlehandedly. And guns seem to offer an easy, or at least readily feasible means to achieve […]