August 2, 2026

[On a certain type of politician] Having nothing to construct, he could always deal with generalities. Being free from responsibility, he was not called upon either to study details or to master even great facts. It was his business to inveigh against existing evils, and perhaps there is no easier business when once the privilege of an audience has been attained. It was his work to cut down…trees, and he had nothing to do with the subsequent cultivation of the land.

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), English novelist, Phineas Finn (1869), Jay p. 369

MEDITATION: Do some politicians deserve so negative a characterization? Who else can be relied upon “…to inveigh against existing evils”? The government itself?

COMMENTARY: Trollope skewers the eternal critic—the politician who thrives on outrage but fears responsibility. Destruction needs no plan. Creation does.

In the end, the test of conviction is what survives your own applause.