In the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Battle of Maldon," set in the realm of King
Aethelred the Unready, the doomed Saxon leader , Earl Byrhtnoth invites some
invading Danes to cross a little bridge and fight on the shore where the
Anglo-Saxon troops are arrayed for battle--thus deliberately sacrificing the
strategic upper hand. "Gat ricene to us ," he says ("Come swiftly to us"),
boasting that he will give them swords and spearpoints rather than the tribute
they are demanding.
They fight; the Saxons lose. Byrhtnoth is killed. As men begin to flee, the
doughty old retainer Byrhtwold gives a famous speech which one of the regulars
on Marxmail used to quote in his posts:
"Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre,
mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað.
Her lið ure ealdor eall forheawen,
god on greote. A mæg gnornian
se ðe nu fram þis wigplegan wendan þenceð.
Ic eom frod feores; fram ic ne wille,
ac ic me be healfe minum hlaforde,
be swa leofan men, licgan þence."
"Courage must be the firmer, heart the keener,
mind must be the greater, as our strength diminishes.
Here lies our leader all cut down,
a good man on the ground. He who now thinks of turning
from this battle-play will always regret it.
I am old in years; I will not go,
but by the side of my lord,
by the man so dear, I intend to lie." [ Source (
https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-battle-of-maldon.html ) ]
Well enough. The existential imperative you mention seems both clear and
surprisingly timeless, if at odds with "dare to struggle;dare to win" and all
that. But isn't what Biden will and won't do-- his agency as vs. that of the
people--another matter altogether? Don't we all know pretty surely by now that
the Reaganite core of the DP, including Biden, exist precisely so as to thwart
the agency of the people rather than be its instruments. Obama could have
passed universal healthcare in his first term and the people would have loved
it. Obama and the Rahmfather made sure that didn't happen.
If by some improbable miracle Biden gets half of the Senate plus Harris, he
will go to the wall to ensure that nothing is done with the slender advantage.
So yes, the fight for the people must go on even if doomed, but I suggest that
Biden be left out of the picture altogether.
The great liberal story arc that fate has decreed for America, as per Ken
Burns, IMO does not exist--the genius of Madison and Jefferson (let alone
Washington) is a fraud. The insane rigidity of the US constitutional system
ensures that one day it will simply collapse. Trumpism is only the latest
episode in revealing the cracks in the edifice. The nearly inevitable collapse
will be the worst possible way to put an end to the American nightmare.
I personally feel like good old Keanu Reaves on the runaway bus--"Duh, what do
you do? "
Please tell me I'm wrong Michael-- Ah don't like feelin' this way!
Footnote: I dimly recall ages ago that there was something on Louis Proyect's
blog suggesting a concrete and sensible self-defense alternative strategy to
the Antifa nonsense. I wish I could remember the name of the man who posted
it--this I believe--like organization toward general strikes--has to be part
of the Left response to the continuing crisis. It would also be nifty if more
young comrades could be drawn into the intellectual side of Marxmail--for
example, the discussion around declining rate of profit, etc.--as well as more
"foreign" comrades, who seem in some cases (Western Europe, eg Italy) to exist
in a strange and unhealthy bubble of their own.
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