"Romeo and Juliet" as a Metaphor for Politics

Pardon me while a get a bit political/philosophical. The following opinions are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone in their right mind. This being election year, it has really been dawning on me the last week or so just how strongly the story of Romeo and Juliet parallels our current political environment.

Consider the houses of Montague and Capulet as the two political parties (it doesn’t matter which is which). They are caught up in the familial (partisan) bickering and fighting because that is what they have done for as long as anyone can remember. Each believes that the master of their family (party) is better than the other, and spits insults and attacks on anyone that dares to disagree.

In reality, you have two families with a rich, strong history that each want the best for Verona (the country), but differ on what that is. The ones that get caught up and left for dead along the way are those of the younger generations that blindly follow the spiteful traditions of the family. They hate their “enemies”, but cannot tell you why to save their life. The partisan warriors fight to the death and are left to rot along the side of the road while Verona struggles on and the next group of young people steps up to fill the gap.

The Prince represents the frustrations of the people who just want the families to get along and accomplish something, while the Friar is the (somewhat misguided) voice of reason trying to find a compromise. Either through treachery or misadventure, the compromises of the play (and of our political system) always seem to fall apart at the seams and cause more damage than good. Perhaps because there is too much interest in the good of the family rather than the good of Verona. As a result, the young and eager family members become just as cynical and angry as the older generations, and we carry on with our journey around the mobius strip that our system has become.

Romeo and Juliet sought to move beyond the partisanship of their families. When Romeo expresses his love of Juliet’s cousin, it is seen as mocking and a ploy by both families. They have all become so cynical that sincerity is a foreign concept, and makes Romeo a target for attack from both sides. In the same vein, in politics it has become more fashionable to slaughter your own than to work with the other side. Just look at Joseph Leiberman and Colin Powell who have both endorsed the opposing parties’ candidates.

My frustration with both sides of the stage (aisle) is very real, and it angers me that we have so little respect for our fellow countrymen as to hack personal email accounts, belittle their records and experience, throw around false allegations about religion and family connections. I realize that we will never all agree on the issues, and that we can’t “just get along”, but I would ask that those that seek to be our leaders learn to disagree with respect. Maybe this needs to begin with respect in our homes, schools, communities, etc. Rather than a grassroots political movement… maybe we need a grassroots manners movement. Or am I just asking for too much?

~David Dunlap