Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life? That is very much an open question.
Is the story of Don Quixote a description of life or a prescription for life? Truth is to be found on both sides of the issue. Cervantes’ novel is a telling commentary on human nature. How much of our lives do we spend cultivating delusions? Who has never tilted at a windmill?
Don Quixote and Donald Trump share much in common. Both have raised narcissism, paranoia and delusion to a fine art. Quixote and Trump have created their own private universes from which they peek out at the world. Fact and truth have been surrendered to fantasy.
Quixote viewed windmills as giants to be slain. Trump’s giants are Clinton, Comey, Mueller, the House of Representatives and The New York Times.
Don Quixote had his personal sidekick, Sancho Panza. Donald Trump has his trusted attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Both Quixote and Trump share in a romantic dream. Quixote dreamed of being a knight on a quest to revive chivalry. Trump’s dream centers on a desire to imitate his hero, Vladimir Putin.
No matter how beautiful our delusions, sooner or later they come crashing down. Don Quixote’s moment of truth comes when he realizes he is not really a knight errant. Trump’s awakening is unfolding around his extortion of the president of Ukraine to find “dirt” on the Bidens.
Don Quixote had his epiphany. Trump’s will come in the form of his impeachment.
Stanley D. Ivie, Richfield