American Medusa

                                               American Medusa

 

     The story of Medusa like most Greek myths is complex. The general tale reads that Medusa was one of three Gorgons including Stheno and Euryale, monsters all. She could turn mortals into stone just by looking at them and was eventually hunted down by the Greek hero, Perseus and beheaded. Actually Medusa was born mortal and was not in any way a monster. The details describe her a beautiful priestess with long, golden hair at the temple of Athena who, while sweeping its steps one day attracted the attention of Poseidon, God of the sea. It seems he took a fancy to her and promptly raped her. Athena was furious not at Poseidon but Medusa and rather than support her fellow female, mortal or not turned her into a monster and her beautiful hair into a nest of snakes. So a beautiful woman was transformed into a hideous creature by one god for having the nerve to be raped by another, then hunted down by a Greek hero and decapitated. That’s Greek mythology for you, twisted and convoluted and if anything, a mirror on the bizarre and seemingly senseless carousel of human existence. Take a look at Theseus and the Minotaur sometime.

     So what does Medusa have in common with the good ol’ Red, White and Blue?  The concept of American democracy is an inspirational myth in its own way, an attempt to reinvent the Greek invention of democracy in a new and better form that has been inspirational in its own right and has actually, more often than not worked at least for the majority of its citizens. But the one thing that has stood in its way, the one thing that has undone its accomplishments is the one thing that undoes a successful society throughout history, empire. Empire is power and power corrupts 99% of humanity. American empire from slavery to The Trail of Tears to Manifest Destiny to the theft of half of Mexico to eighty years of constant war and a world wide presence of a thousand military bases has been no worse than any other empire in history, but it is an empire.

     A beautiful concept that was trying to follow in the steps of an ancient ideal was raped and turned into a monster by power-corrupted members of its own. Is Perseus on his way? If so, let’s hope he’ll be an American Perseus.