Sunday Reflection: Terry Southern And Martial Law

"Every once in a while I get a jolt of very painful realization that Nixon and whatever he represents in terms of the power structure--you know, people who would go down with him--that they know the only support they have is the army, and those elements of industry and the scientific and academic world connected with it--a relatively small group, certainly not enough to carry any kind of vote--so their only chance of remaining in power is to create a situation so disruptive...in other words, to encourage people like Abbie Hoffman to freak-out, or the Panthers, so that they have a little martial law until things cool down. I mean about election time, you known, because having elections would be "dangerous to national security." They'd say: maybe in two weeks, if things cool down, then, of course, that two weeks can be extended indefinitely. I can't imagine them being so naive as to think that this power can be retained in any other way. They're very unpopular--perhaps the most unpopular regime in the history of the country." (our emphasis) -- Author, screenwriter and cultural touchstone Terry Southern, from Marcus Cunliffe's Interview, Escapade, 1971.  Southern's imaginings preceded the Malignant Loser's attempt fifty years later to stop the peaceful and legitimate transfer of power to President Biden, toying with the notion of declaring martial law and seizing voting machines. Southern, who passed away this day in 1995, saw the worst regime to date, but had no inkling of what was to come in the person of a lying, narcissistic reality TV host and failed businessman / con man who later ascended to the White House.

(photo: Flashing a peace sign to a dove. William Claxton)

Sunday Reflection: To Astonish

"The important thing in writing is... to astonish. Not shock — shock is a worn-out word — but astonish. the world has no grounds whatsoever for complacency. The Titanic couldn't sink but it did. Where you find smugness, you find something worth blasting. I want to blast it."  -- Author, journalist and screenwriter Terry Southern, whose catalogue of work includes "Dr. Strangelove," "The Loved One," "The Cincinnati Kid," "Easy Rider," and "The Magic Christian." A part of what Tom Wolfe dubbed "New Journalism," Southern was an early contributor to the Paris Review, along with George Plimpton, William S. Burroughs, and other expatriates in post-WW2 Paris. For what it's worth, Southern, who died in 1995, also achieved a measure of pop culture immortality when his photo was included on the Beatles' iconic "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover.