One of the recurring themes through the ages is advice to the successful to tend toward moderation in victory celebrations and to show similar restraint in visiting retribution on the losers.
The metaphors differ, but the message is the same.
From the Biblical “Vengeance is Mine,” to admonitions about not poking bears or kicking sleeping dogs, those who would revel in hubris are cautioned to be modest in the aftermath of their successes.
Beyond that, superiors – or those who think they are above the rest – also are reminded to keep a lid on their egos, if only for their benefit.
An example of that comes from the world of online poker, where weak players who are apt to play poorly and therefore donate their money to better players, are characterized as “fish.”
Online poker has a chat function and too many players feel the need to chastise these “fish” for their poor play. Wiser heads advise these braggart winners not to tap on the aquarium glass, as in don’t scare off the “fish” – and their easily won money.
But the would-be poker geniuses just can’t seem to help themselves.
So it is in the current political climate, with Democrats, heady at their impending control of the federal government, now aligning with their Unholy Trinity partners of big tech and mainstream media to gloat and just as important, cut off means to respond.
They have decided they are going to make their enemies embark on a massive walk of shame, for eternity if possible.
Those foolish people who backed President Trump, or even worse worked for him, must be called to task for . . . what? Answer: They need to be punished for having the temerity to disagree with their socialist masters, the deep-state alliance.
It feels good for these far-left ideologues to inflict pain on those they have defeated in this election, even though said defeat may have been as much a function of a hacked scoreboard as an honest-to-goodness endorsement of the winners’ political platform.
We can only hope these braying donkeys find themselves following the path of so many recent examples from the sporting world, in which pride preceded embarrassing falls.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and would-be handicapper JuJu Smith-Schuster said before a playoff game that the “(Cleveland) Browns is the Browns.” Gertrude Stein – “a rose is a rose is a rose” – would have been proud of JuJu’s message, that the Browns, despite their impressive season record, were still a hapless franchise.
After pummeling the Steelers in their first-round playoff matchup, Browns players thanked JuJu for lighting their emotional fire.
A similar story line unfolded in the Baltimore-Tennessee playoff game. Tennessee Titans players had danced on the Ravens logo following a previous success. The Ravens won their first-round playoff rematch and made it a point to seek out the Titans logo for use as a dance floor.
Monday night, the other side of the coin was on display as Alabama routed Ohio State in the college football national championship game. Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith, the winner of this season’s Heisman Trophy, was dominant and the announcers noted that for all his success he was and is a model of humility.
No trash talking from Smith, just consistent production and success.
What does this have to do with Democrats and their gloating allies? Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot.
Those who study long-term trends realize that over decades the ins eventually become the outs.
The pendulum of society’s mood spends precious little time in the middle and more often finds itself on either the left or right side.
This dictates that when the pendulum is at its extremes, it just means it is that much closer to reversing.
Purveyors of doom and gloom are surveying events and predicting the end of our republic as we know it. They are right for the moment, but not necessarily forever.
The incoming Harris-Biden administration could find itself staring down economic collapse despite their full-out stimulus efforts.
A vacuous left-wing guest columnist in the local rag today spouted that leadership is not about making excuses; all this as an attack on Trump.
Yet excuses already are being made about what a tough situation Biden has inherited. Rest assured, any and all problems going forward will be blamed on Trump.
That would be excuses made by Biden and the gang. But his excuses will be righteous.
Still, I don’t recall Biden running on this platform: Vote for me. I can’t do anything to change the course of history, but my kid needs a new job.
The motley crew that is the democratic electorate has many fringe elements who now are awaiting their quid pro quo – metaphorical payoffs for their support. If they don’t get all they expect, and maybe a bit more, be prepared to see them back on the street expressing their outrage.
Their protests will, as has been past practice, be accepted as legitimate exercise of first amendment rights. Of course that does not apply to right-wing protesters.
That Capitol protest of last week could have exposed a potential Achilles’ heel of the left crackdown corps, the presence of sympathizers to the cause of liberty who are within the ranks of the police and/or military.
The far right also can be said to have plenty of ex-police and ex-military in its ranks. These are people trained to excel in the sort of armed conflict that could be our future.
Even if we somehow avoid violent conflict in the streets, it is less likely Biden will get through four years without his regime needing to deal with economic meltdown.
Aside from the fear of losing your job and assets in such a scenario, there could be other ramifications that should cause concern.
Socialist icon Franklin Delano Roosevelt is widely credited with steering the United States out of the Great Depression with his assorted handouts and make-work projects.
But check your history. What really got the U.S. out of depression was World War II and its aftermath. The U.S. was geared up economically to help the rest of the world win the war, then continued to boom afterward rebuilding war-ravaged countries.
Other than the Pearl Harbor attack in what was then the U.S. territory of Hawaii, our homeland was spared direct war devastation. Don’t count on being similarly isolated in a potential World War III.
That, too, would of course be Trump’s fault.
Sam Ross Jr's site 