Although the Wizard is a central character in the Wizard of Oz, he does not get as much attention as the other famous Oz character do. Save for some orange hair tint, the Wizard bears an uncanny resemblance to a man who is operating behind the booth, not in Oz, but at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
This blog addition is not intended to demonize the POTUS, but rather to look at him with an open mind…if that is at all possible and perhaps to come to an understanding, not just of the man, but why he is so hated and why he is so loved.
I usually avoid using the classic film as the basis for a blog, but in this case I will make an exception by weaving together Oz, the great and magnificent from both the movie and the book.
In the movie we meet Oz, not as Oz, but as Professor Marvel. Critics have labeled him “a well-meaning charlatan.” Right there I begin to scratch my head because most definitions of “charlatan” all say the same thing: A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick or deception in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception.
Many other definitions add what I think is an important ingredient: a charlatan is a person who pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than they possess.
Remember, Oz is not called a charlatan; he is called a well-meaning charlatan. I ask. How is that possible? How can you deceive, swindle, or fool someone but still remain well-meaning? Isn’t that a contradiction of terms?
Certainly in Oz the movie, the ultimate purpose of Professor Marvel was to “convince” Dorothy to go home. Certainly he used all the tricks common to a charlatan, as seen in this clip:
Marvel the magnificent and well-meaning charlatan
but…was this the only way he believed he could convince Dorothy to go home? Has there ever been a time when you were trying to convince someone (often times a child in their teens) not to do something or to do something else? If you tried logic you quickly understood that logic would not work because the issue was usually an emotional one. So, you might have tried a little trickery to make a convincing argument that satisfied your listener.
It reminds me of the means justifying the end.
However, what gave Professor Marvel the right to convince/trick Dorothy into returning home. Maybe Aunt Em was as sweet and loving as Marvel described her…from a photograph. What about Henry? He might have been the reason why Dorothy was running away from home. Henry might have been abusive. Henry might have been a horrible creature. Going home to him might have only continued the abuse. In that case, going home was not what Dorothy needed to do.
In the book we don’t learn much about Professor Marvel’s early years. All we can do is surmise. A charlatan does not become a charlatan overnight. It’s a long process, a process that necessitates the person to become dissociative, “a mental process of disconnecting from one’s thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity.”
The longer one practices chicanery, the harder it is to begin to believe that there is anything wrong with the practice. And if the dissociative individual is in a position of power, there is a demand placed on subordinates to accept the dissociation as normal…and healthy.
Most politicians are what I call moldable dissociatives, meaning they allow themselves to be formed/shaped by others often to do their bidding as they aspire to be powerful. As a politician climbs the ladder of power and prestige they tend to believe they are the one in control, when in truth they are still under the control of someone else.
In the business world, the opposite is usually true. The power broker becomes what I call a chameleon dissociative, meaning they will change to meet their specific ends. The more power they amass, the less they change shape and color. The more powerful they become the more they like being surrounded by ass-kissers. They become super rich charlatans who don’t give a damn about being well-meaning unless it serves them and their goals.
I believe that every POTUS is a variant of a charlatan. They can piss in your ear and convince you it’s raining. A political charlatan always knows deep down inside that there is someone who can bring them down. A non-political POTUS continues to be a business charlatan. He is immune to other political power brokers. He only wants to be surrounded by (naive) ass-kissers.
Today we have a WOTUS, a wizard of the United States. He is so comfortable in his position that he is able to convince millions of people that everything he does is well-meaning. How does he do it?
To be continued.
Along The Yellow Brick Road 