
UPDATE (7/25/08): Tillman’s article is satire. And so subtle, no one picked up on it. I’m not sure whether or not this makes it great or terrible satire, but at any rate, I apologize to Micah Tillman for taking him seriously :-).
Micah Tillman, lecturer in philosophy at Catholic University, on O!:
Barack Obama is the Platonic philosopher king we’ve been looking for for the past 2,400 years.
That’s right. It’s finally happened.
Allow me to explain.
Plato argued that without a philosopher king there could be neither happiness (V, 473e, VI, 500d-3) nor personal perfection (VI, 499a-b). Therefore, none of us will attain the four excellences required for true unity — each of our souls will remain internally divided, broken (IV, 441c-d, 443c-e) — until the philosopher king arrives.
For Pete’s sake. Really, Micah. When I first clicked on the link, I expected some tongue-in-cheek action. Nope. None here.
So let’s get this straight, friends. Just so we’re all on the same page. According to Micah, your acquisition of personal perfection and happiness is inextricably tied to Barack Obama.
Just when I thought the nonsense couldn’t get any worse, our well-meaning Platonist friend goes even further:
But he’ll do even more. He won’t just heal our city-states and souls. He won’t just bring the Heavenly Kingdom — dreamt of in both Platonism and Christianity — to earth. He will heal the earth itself.
Barack Obama. Healing the earth. Bringing about the Heavenly Kingdom. Excuse me for a moment.
(HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!)
Ahem. Sorry about that.
Really, this is like watching adults go gah-gah over a prefabricated, talentless, fake boy band. It simultaneously infuriates and amuses.
Do these people even realize how ridiculous they are in their Obama worship? Do they understand that despite his crafty campaign, what meager evidence we have about the man suggests that he’s your typical liberal politician? He’s no philosopher, much less a philosopher king. He’s not even much of a thinker, especially where political philosophy is concerned.
Barack Obama isn’t the Messiah, Micah. The guy who fits Plato’s description of philosopher king, who will heal the earth itself, bring about the Heavenly Kingdom - take a look around you, Micah. His image is bound to be all around you there on campus, seeing as how you’re sitting in a Catholic institution.
Do I even need to mention his name?