Saxons and Normans

In the last few days I reread Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. It is a really good book, better than I remembered, with well presented and interesting characters, a good story, and a humane, thoughtful, dispassionate, and enlightened viewpoint.   Quite apart from the quality and enjoying of the novel, one of its themes struck me as I was thinking about the political situation in this last week before the election – the conflicts between the subject Saxons and their Norman overlords.

The book presents the Saxons as cowed by, resentful of, and hostile toward the rulers whom they believe have no legitimate authority over them, while the Normans are haughtily disdainful of and oppressive toward a population they see as uncouth, barbarous, and inferior. Many Saxons resort to outlawry as their only means of defiance, and many Normans use  their privileged status to commit crimes and outrages against their subjects and common decency  with impunity.

It seems to me that many Americans are starting to see themselves in a role similar to that of the  Saxons and the political and bureaucratic ruling  class in a role similar to that of the of Normans, and that this explains some of Trump’s unlikely success.  One can see reasons why they would.  The people running this country give a good impression of viewing ordinary Americans as uncouth, inferior, and not worthy of consideration.  They  certainly are privileged to ignore or violate laws and to get away with things which would get others into serious trouble.  Information from Wikileaks and other sources about Hillary Clinton and her associates has made that clear enough to be noticed even by many  who don’t always pay attention.

While those in charge may not worry about this (particularly if Clinton gets elected anyway),  they should. They should because their game depends on  having a high enough percentage of people who  believe  the rules are generally fair and fairly applied  and the government generally legitimate and worthy of respect and allegiance.  A modern technological  and industrial society is not medieval England. It cannot be run successfully by intimidation and brute force. If enough hard working, responsible, productive, self-supporting  Saxons  decide there is no justice  for them in the Normans’ system and start to see themselves not as citizens in a free  commonwealth but as subjects owing their despised and arrogant rulers nothing, some things will go badly,  even if none of them takes to Sherwood.