I’m an avid reader of The Week, a magazine that I value up there with the Press Herald as an indispensable fount of information and inspiration. In a recent issue, that magazine’s editor-in-chief writes of Greek tragedies: “… where heroes meet their downfall when they succumb to hubris – the arrogant belief in their own infallibility.”

William Falk cites the recent antics of our gilded, self-serving billionaires: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and now Sam Bankman-Fried, whose cryptocurrency firm FTX fizzled and failed. Seemingly savvy investors like Tom Brady and Larry David apparently forgot about Bernie Madoff, who bilked those with more money than foresight. Sadly, lower-echelon investors were also ransacked of their life savings.

Falk mentions Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose woefully miscalculated invasion has accounted for numerous war crimes and 100,000-plus lives. Closer to home, his pal – our disgraced, twice-impeached former president – announced his desperate presidential campaign. This, in part, to shield against his potential prosecution. Good luck to anyone investing in that arrogant belief.

Falk notes that, back in the day, Greek gods had a knack for knocking inflated heroes off their ego-infused perches. These days, the gods seem similarly miffed over the poppycock perpetrated by our petulant, preening princes of profit.

Buddy Doyle
Gardiner

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