There is a man
who is a head of state. He is a very
powerful man and is well liked by his subjects.
The people love him. Then he is
suddenly, inexplicably murdered. Someone
is blamed for the murder, but the entire country knows the accused are innocent
and are tools used in a cover-up. Does
this situation sound bizarre? Does it
sound like some work of fiction? Well,
it is. It is the beginning of William
Shakespeare's Macbeth. However, it is
much more than that. It is real life. It is the circumstances that surrounded one
of the most surreal periods of time in United States history. It is the situation surrounding the
assassination of one of the US's most revered Presidents, John F. Kennedy. These circumstances suggest that the events
which occur in the play Macbeth are still possible.
It is possible for the circumstances
surrounding Macbeth to be repeated in modern day America because no protection
provides absolute safety, some men are still willing to do what Macbeth did,
and the act could still be covered up.
No amount of protection provides absolute
safety. In today's world, it is easier
than ever to kill someone. Any person
can buy a cheap pistol and kill someone.
It is also easier to kill without being caught. There are long range rifles and remote
control explosives that can be used as the murder weapon while the actual
perpetrator is far away. Also, it is
easier than ever to find a professional assassin who will kill anyone for the
right amount of money. These latter
methods could allow a person to commit murder and easily get away with it. Even though the actual murderer may be
caught, the person financing the operation could get away untouched.
In Macbeth, Duncan was well protected by his
guards. However, he was still
murdered. The guards were overcome
through a simple trick. "The doors
are open, and the surfeited grooms\ Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugged their possets..." says Lady Macbeth. She had drugged their drinks, and instead of
guarding Duncan, they were asleep.
Macbeth was easily able to sneak past them and kill Duncan. Every precaution available had been taken to
insure Duncan's protection. It is not an
easy task to get past two armed bodyguards in a cramped area. However, through some deceit, Macbeth was
able to accomplish this. This reaffirms
the statement that no protection is absolute.
Perhaps the best example that no protection is
infallible occurs in the aforementioned situation involving President
Kennedy. Kennedy was in a moving
vehicle. There were two Secret Service
men directly behind him and countless others in the crowd. Dallas Police Department officers were placed
throughout the area. Dealy Plaza, the
site of the tragedy, was crowded, with many obstructions such as trees, signs,
and an overpass. Protection was
tight. The day was beautiful. The sun was shining. The setting was not right for
assassination. However, it still
occurred. Kennedy was killed and the
entire nation stunned. There was a Secret
Service agent very close, yet he was not able to stop the fatal bullet. The limousine driver did not speed up in time
to get the President out of danger. The
agents in the crowd were unable to prevent the deadly shots. With that many people, with all those pre-cautions,
President Kennedy was still killed, proving that protection can be
penetrated.
Since the beginning of time, man has wanted
power. It is in his basic nature. It is what drives him. The history of the world serves to prove this
fact. Adam and Eve wanted power equal to
God's so they ate the apple. Caesar
struggled to become king and to gain power and was killed for his
aspirations. Napoleon had much power. He used it to conquer half of Europe. Hitler craved power so badly he plunged the
world into a war that preceded the detonation of the atomic bomb. Men crave power. Some of them, like Adam and Eve, were willing
to sacrifice the perfect life to gain their power. They had no jobs, no wake-up calls. They didn't even have to wear clothes! Yet they were willing to sacrifice all
this for the chance that they would have
power like God. So we learn from the
first story of the most popular book in the world that man is willing to trade
perfection for more power.
Macbeth loved power. Otherwise, he would never have murdered
Duncan. Macbeth was willing to trade
anything to be king. Macbeth was willing
to "...jump the life to come."
if he could kill Duncan and be done with it. He was willing to risk eternal damnation for
a finite term as king of a small country on a small island in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean. How much more tempting
would it be for a man to kill to gain the position as the most powerful man in
the world? The temptation would be
tremendous. Macbeth had second thoughts
on Duncan's murder going so far as to say "We will proceed no further in
this business." He was persuaded
to commit the murder after many arguments.
He does this to satisfy his craving for power.
The President of the United States is the most
powerful man in the world today. This is
why he is also in more danger than most people.
The temptation for the Vice-President to kill the President would be
great. Some say that this temptation has
even been realized. When Kennedy was
shot, it was only a matter of hours before Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was
sworn into the vacant office. Was it
possible that Johnson had Kennedy killed?
It is obvious that a massive cover-up was managed. The cover-up was arranged by someone in
power. Who has more power than the
President? Johnson could easily have
arranged such a massive smoke-screen.
Men have killed for less and Johnson was in a position to profit from
the Presidency. He gained large sums of
money from his construction company in Vietnam.
It can be argued that Johnson prolonged the war purposely so he could
reap more benefits from the war in Asia.
Whatever happened, Johnson was rewarded with much power after the
assassination of Kennedy.
Nobody wants to tell the truth if it might get
them in trouble. A small child does
something wrong, they will usually deny having done it. Teenagers often lie to cover-up their late
night parties. Government officials lie
to avoid scandals. They are all
lies. The only difference is the
complexity of the lie and the number of people affected by it. A small child cannot lie very well. Teenagers are somewhat better at it. However, they are mere amateurs compared to
professional politicians. This is true
for several reasons. Politicians have
the means to pay people to lie for them.
Sometimes they can threaten to expose other's embarrassing secrets if
they do not cooperate. There are other
techniques that these people use to hide the truth. However, the fact remains that the more
powerful the person, the better the cover-up.
Macbeth was reasonably able to conceal the
murder of Duncan. He did this in
textbook fashion. First, he found a
scapegoat, Duncan's guards. Lady Macbeth
cast the suspicion on them by making sure "Their hand and faces were all badged
with blood,\ So were their daggers, which unwiped we found\ Upon their
pillow." Then Macbeth killed them,
cutting off any chance they may have had of defending themselves, claiming
"The expedition of my violent love\ Outrun the pauser of reason." He had provided the perfect patsy. They were covered with Duncan's blood, as
were their knives. It would have been
difficult to defend themselves against this evidence even if they were still
alive. But when they were dead, no
defense could be offered and they were assumed guilty. So, if Macbeth had quit with this one murder,
he would have gotten away with his crime with no consequences.
Who could have known that almost the same exact
circumstances would be repeated some 800 years later. After President Kennedy was shot, there had
to be a cover up. Someone had to
shoulder the blame. Someone had to take
the fall. Whether voluntarily or not,
Lee Harvey Oswald was the man blamed with the murder of JFK. His palm-print was on the rifle that fired the
fatal shot. He was seen leaving the
building from which the shots supposedly came.
Oswald was set up as the murderer from the beginning, the lone nut who
killed the President. And like the fall
guys in Macbeth, he was murdered before he was given a chance to defend
himself. This provides the perfect
cover-up to be presented to the American people. Oswald acted alone. He was crazy.
This provided a plausible motive and excluded any chance of a possible
conspiracy scandal. The story presented
to the American public fit perfectly into the psychological make-up that was
supposedly Oswald. He was simply acting
like he was supposed to and this
explained the murder of Kennedy. In the
years following the assassination, more truth about the event has surfaced,
rendering the Oswald character impossible.
The people orchestrating the Kennedy cover-up made the same mistake
Macbeth made. They were unwilling to
leave their story alone. They tried to
make themselves more secure by killing key witnesses and doctoring evidence,
but what they believed would make them safer, most probably aroused suspicions
and their entire story became unbelievable.
The conspirators in both situations discredited their entire story by
trying to secure themselves.
Assassinating the President is a difficult
thing to do. It doesn't happen very
often. However, it can be done. If a person plans the crime, and executes it
according to plan, he can succeed in killing the President. The protection afforded the President is
tremendous but not infallible. Men are
willing to commit this crime in order to gain power. If a proper cover-up is planned and executed,
then it is effective. If all of these
obstacles are overcome properly, a man can assume the Presidency while not one
hint of blame is ever thrown his way.
All of this has been proven in this paper. It is possible for the plot of Macbeth to be
repeated in today's world because no protection provides absolute security, men
are still willing to do what Macbeth did, and the deed could still be covered
up.
No comments:
Post a Comment