Donald Trump is refusing to take responsibility for the failed Yemen raid where a Navy Seal was killed, along with 30 civilians. The raid brings to mind the “Charge of the Light Brigade,” although more appropriate might be the Rudyard Kipling sequel, where the poet blasted England for failing to take care of the survivors.
A “Guardian” article applies Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Dead Statesman” to those irresponsible politicians who brought about Brexit. The poem applies equally well to Donald Trump.
ISIS resembles the Monkey People in Kipling’s “Jungle Book” in the way it craves attention. It is defeated by Kaa, but the authoritarian python brings his own set of problems, a fascist reaction to anarchy.
Kobe is both like and unlike Akela, the Lone Wolf in “The Jungle Books.”
Roger Cohen of the New York Times turns to a Kipling poem to express his despair about the world.
Kipling predicted the V.A. scandal in his 1892 poem “Tommy.”
Although Kipling’s “Jungle Books” sometimes read like a rightwing fantasy, there’s a progressive element as well.
The Cincinnati Bengals losing to San Diego is like Shere Khan losing to Mowgli.
