"All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick."
It is harder and harder to read Moby-Dick without assigning references to Pres. _rump. The line above, "truth with malice in it," particularly caught my attention. Truth should be universal, wise, and meaningful. Truth should not be specific for one person only and begin with words like, "I'm not a racist, but . . . " Whatever the meaning we place on the symbolism of the great white whale in our life, has to be steeped in truth. The rally format, where our leaders stir "up the lees of things," are not meant to reflect truth. What is stirred up is hate and mistrust and lies. Ugh. Enough