I’m an subscriber to, and an avid reader of The Week, a newsmagazine that skews a bit to the left, but presents both sides of any story fairly and equitably.

In a recent issue, Editor-in-Chief William Falk writes of Greek tragedies, “where heroes meet their downfall when they succumb to hubris — the arrogant belief in their own infallibility.”

He cites the recent antics of our gilded, self-serving billionaires.  You know their names. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and now Sam Bankman-Fried — who’s crypto-currency firm, FTX, that has (ironically) fried, fizzled and failed. Seemingly savvy investors apparently forgot about Bernie Madoff, who bilked those with more money than foresight, brains, or the time for due diligence. Sadly as well, lower-echelon investors were ransacked of their entire life’s savings.

The article mentions Vladimir Putin, who’s woefully miscalculated invasion has accounted for numerous war crimes and the loss of 100,000-plus lives while formidable Ukrainian resistance, and world condemnation, stacks up against him.  Closer to home, his pal — our disgraced, twice-impeached former president — announced his desperate presidential campaign merely days after the midterm elections decimated his die-hard deniers. This, in part, to shield against his potential prosecution. Good luck to anyone investing in that arrogant, preposterous belief.

Falk notes that, back in the day, the Greek Gods had a keen knack for knocking inflated heroes off their ego-infused perches. These days, the Gods seem similarly miffed over the poppycock perpetrated by our petulant, preening princes of profit, resulting in cataclysmic losses.

 

Buddy Doyle

Gardiner

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