Hannibal Lecter for President
With Lecter in office you can say goodbye to the “wimp factor”
The idea of Hannibal Lecter as President of the United States comes from Robert Anton Wilson’s book TSOG: The Thing that Ate the Constitution, where he suggested that the acclaimed psychiatrist would make a better President than George W. Bush. To illustrate his point, Wilson argue that “everybody knows that the President of the United States at this time of history needs to have the personality and the temperament of a serial killer.” [1]
For those among you who dont know, Hannibal Lecter, M.D., is a fictional character in a series of horror novels by Thomas Harris and in the films adapted from them. Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. The novel and its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs, feature Lecter as the secondary antagonist after the two serial killers in both novels. In the third novel, Hannibal, Lecter becomes the main character. The first film adapted from the Harris novels was Manhunter (based on Red Dragon) which features Brian Cox as Lecter, spelled “Lecktor”. In 1991, Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the character in The Silence of the Lambs. He would reprise the role in Hannibal in 2001 and in a second adaptation of Red Dragon made in 2002 under the original title.
So, the idea was that since the USA is on top of the world, it is understandable that it has everybody at his throat. The man who is at the top of the chain of command have all the incentive in the world to think and act like a predator. He must act like that no matter whether he want to expand his empire or if he just want to sit on its laurel. Whether you are a leftist or a right wing nut, you invariably get to the same conclusion every time. It’s one of those “bipartisan” things upon which everybody agrees immediately. According the the right wing view of the universe America has vicious enemies on all continents (according to mainstream media) and that those evildoers driven by Satan hates our freedom and want to destroy us and take all we own. Hence, if we follow the logical consequences of this analysis, our President must have no compunction about spilling blood; in short, like it or not, he must have the soul – or the soulessness – of a serial killer. The leftist hold that the world does not consist entirely of endless enemies, but does contain many, many peoples who want to get out from under the heel of the IMF, the World Bank and the multi-nationals. “Our” government, in this view, actually belong not to us but to these giant money-cows, who finance the two major parties and ensure that no third party ever gets decent coverage in their media. The government then acts as Compagny Cop for the rich, suppressing all attempts at rebellion or national liberation, etc. Thus, once again, via a a dissenting ideology, we arrive at the conclusion that the president must think, feel and act like a serial killer.
Hannibal Lecter would probably be as cruel (maybe even a bit more) than it’s predecessors but at least he would rid the United States of the political correctness hysteria.
Once we have understood all the implications of this state of affair, Robert Anton Wilson thinks that the only pragmatic (non theoritical) issue that is left to discuss in the oval office is “what sort of serial killer can best represent the rich who pay campaign expenses?” [2] Answering to his own question Wilson tels his readers that he thinks that Hannibal lacter MD. would satisfy him, and “might even satisfy the owners and proprietors of USCorp, much better than George W. Bush. ” [3] Once we admit that Jesus is never going to be elected, and that one way or another, the President of the United States NEEDS TO BE a ruthless mother fucker, the most important existential question that Americans should ask themselves from there is “do we want a bumbling amateur or a man who really has a talent as well as a relish for multiple homicide?” [4]
Unlike Obama, Lecter would have the nerve to tell you EXACTLY what he’s going to do to you.
The Neocons may have killed a hell of a lot more people than Hannibal, by a margin of about 20 million to one, but they are doing it without flair or zest. “Hannibal really puts his heart and soul into the work, and even adds a touch of surrealist humor at times.” [5] The choice of Hannibal lecter takes also all its meaning when we consider the others functions that the president has to fulfill. First of all Hannibal Lecter would never had to rig the election in order to secure the oval office. Wilson assure his readers that Lecter could win an election honestly, without any of the taint of felony that have obsured the Election of George W. Bush. Dr Lecter seems an honest box office smah, his latest film grossing $100,000,000 in its first week alone. It doesn’t take long to realize that despite his severe outlook, Dr Lecter obviously have more fans thanhis Royal “Fraudulency,” George II. Another thing that put Hannibal Lecter ahead of Bushware 2.0 is the fact that he speaks correct en even eloquent English (despite his Lituanian birth) wheras Boy George babbles like an idiot. [6] It goes without a say that Dr Lecter will command more respect from the educated people of the world in general as well as from the other world leaders, diplomats and dignitaries that has to entertain on a daily basis. Moreover, Lecter speaks several languages – French, Italian, Spanish, English… whereas King George the Turd can barely speak english. No doubt that Lecter he is better suited to make conversation with the other leaders of the civilized world than a mumbling idiot from Texas that have a hard time remembering his own name. At venerable age 64, Hannibal Lecter looks and act like the archetype of the Elder Statesman. While George Bush reminds most of us of Giggles the Clown. It seems highly doubtful that Dead Brain Talking discuss anything more complex than Fun with Dick and Jane. Dr Lecter can often recite the exact cehmical formula for the neuro-psychological ailments of his patients; he can and does, give a scholarly lecture – in correct Tuscan – on the moral theology of Dante; he works part time on a mathematical critique of Hawkins’ attempted unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity; he has wide artistic interest and plays the harpsichord with a real feel for the music; etc. Since the wider the mental landscape, the more balanced the judgment, we could expect him to act more prudently than Bushware 2.0.
If we must have a murderer as President, at least let’s take one who is not affraid to get his hands dirty. Let’s select a President that won’t ask the military to do something that he doesn’t have the balls to do himself.
Since nobody is perfect in the world, Wilson admit that Dr Lecter occasionally acts rashly. He has already eaten the frontal lobe of a candidate for Congress and might devour a few Senators if they seriously piss him off. When we think about it, who need frontal lobes in Coingress anyway? And we would certainly have a more rational government absent a few of the archeological specimens in the Senate. Of course the whole issue of canibalism remains problematical, and might seriously disturb human rights pressures groups and the political correctness crowd. Robert Anton Wilson says that personally he favor a cannibal president on both surreralist and realist grounds. According to him, “accepting a cannibal president might qualify as the most educated experience in a hundred years or more.” [7] Besides, Hannibal Lecter always acts as a gourmet, not a gourmand; although Sir Anthony Hopkins has “put on some weight” as they say, the novel always describe Hannibal as slim. At most we may expect him to ingest a few Senators, as mentioned above, and maybe a couple of dozen head of bureaucrats. Well, perhaps a few TV evangelists too. None of this would amount to a great loss, and the educational benefits in making American politics totally explicit would be a great move toward more transparency for the adminsitration. The only question that remains is this: Since Dr, lecter despises those who kill for money (he despise avarice in general); would he blindly kill those the owners of America want killed? Just for a paycheck? Or would he want to start eating the frontal lobes of the hidden owners of America too, just as a challenge? Considering that the president of the United States in nothing but a mouthpiece for corporate America, how long does it gonna take before Dr Lecter stop faking being a puppet? Hard to say. On thing is sure, the fate of America hang in the balance.
