Returning to our apartment in San Jose, too tired after the flight from New York to drive down to Carmel Valley, but too awake to turn in immediately, I scanned the DVR recordings for options.
I'm partial to Charlie Rose, so his folder was where I looked. His two most recent shows: tonight's hour-long interview with Nancy Pelosi (Afghanistan, etc) and last Friday's solo appearance by Jude Law, discussing the current Broadway production of Hamlet, in which he plays the title role.
I chose the later, and chose wisely. Both discussions involved life, death and politics. But Shakespeare sheds light, and shadows, to illuminate the contours of our condition with sublime insight. He, from the remove of 400 odd years, sees into our state today, as people and polity, and helps us understand. Our present day politicians all too often embarrass with their crass simplifications and muddled thinking, even in their most earnest moments.
An unfairly high standard of comparison, I know, but it's time we hold up tall rulers to our present leaders in light of current circumstance.