Jackson Jambalaya

 What a mess! Now we have to pick sides again. Now we have to blame the other side again for what they started. It is their fault, you know. If they hadn’t done that in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to fix everything that’s happened as a result. We told you so, and now we’re in a mess just like we warned about. And they’re blaming it all on us and not taking any responsibility for what they’ve done. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

Way back when I was in college studying storytelling, I heard about “The Seven Basic Plots,” by Christopher Booker. He worked on the book for 34 years before publishing it in 2004. Booker’s ideas attracted a host of mixed reviews from scholars and journalists throughout the years. His work is not unique in literature, though it is relatively concise. Other storytellers have practiced writing according to their favorite plots, and some have even created plots of their own probably out of boredom. 

Let’s just say there are many plots storytellers can use or adapt to master their crafts. In America politics has become the primary medium for telling stories. The latest kerfuffle in American politics begins with the hero defeating diabolical drug lords. His ultimate goal is to destroy enemies of Americans who kill more than 100,000 people every year with impunity. As if this were not bad enough, all the drug lords are tyrants who oppress people through sinister social economic policies enforced by extreme tyrannical strategies and tactics. They are all bad people. 

Of course, the cast includes Lilliputians, small ineffectual voices until they gang up on the hero and his army with farcical claims of fantasies beyond belief of all who work for a living. Lilliputians play the role of punishing do-gooders. You know, no good deed goes unpunished. Individually they can be easily crushed, but when supported by the rich and famous their machine-made signs, megaphones, tents and other operational supplies are insurmountable. They usually spring up around progressive college campuses lead by administrators who practiced plagiarism to build expansive curriculum vitae.

Back to the story, as the plot thickens the hero and his advisors fall into the trap that if a little bit is good, a whole lot is better. Instead of simply defeating drug lords, they can help the oppressed people get out of slavery and poverty. They can rebuild the factories and mine riches that have been exploited by bad dictators for decades. The people can become prosperous again and free to choose good leaders who truly care for the people. It’s sensible and noble minded. Everybody loves a good ending. But wait! 

No story would be complete without malevolent forces that infest the story for no other reason than to mess in other people’s business. The hero and his armies must defend Americans from earthly powers who want to rule the planet. Only the good should ever rule the planet, and only the good should always rule benevolently and fairly. No one should be above the law. But the malevolent forces are above the law. They are the law. They rig elections to prove they are above the law.

So, how will this story end? Will the hero and his advisors overcome Americans’ adversaries? Stay tuned!