The ending of Joe Biden’s presidential bid is something that will go down in history books. Not just because he did end the bid, but the tumult leading up to it. Biden, being of Irish lineage, probably innately knew this was coming. Afterall, the idea of slaying the chieftain is a very Irish tradition.
Back in the Iron Age, when a chieftain was too old to lead, the Druids got busy. It wasn’t that a chieftain could retire. No, they had to do something bigger and bolder than that. And so, the chieftain would submit to a ritual of being sacrificed for the good of the clan. It was sort of one of those incidentals that were in the fine print of the chieftain contract. Only the Druids could read at the time, so if you were a young warrior about to become leader of your clan, you’d just go along with your advisors, I guess. And if you weren’t slain by some enemy or died from some illness or got crushed by a wild boar, well, (you could just hear the Monty Pythonesque dialogue) “sorry, we need to kill you, now.” In truth, the chieftain knew this all along. When he became chieftain, it wasn’t unusual to sacrifice someone to help inaugurate his chieftainship. Such rituals were essential to maintain boundaries with rival chieftains, appease gods and what’s a party without a good old bog murder? There were other odd rituals that involved becoming a chieftain as well, so, when the chieftain was too old to rule, he would become the ultimate sacrifice. Though a lot of this is lost to history (after all it was the Bronze Age) nevertheless, there is sufficient enough evidence in the form of bog people to lend credence to this story.
What we witnessed was the 21st century version of such a practice. The elite of the party, worried about their chieftain, had pushed for weeks to have him terminate his bid for re-election. Unlike the Druids, they were pretty vocal about it, kneading hands, gnashing teeth and wailing on cable news that “the old gray mare ain’t what she used to be.”
It is said that upon slaying the chieftain, the Druids would then be able to augur the future. And perhaps that is what is going on here. Pundits and pollsters will now have fresh reports to report. Whatever the case, it is a new day for the world.
Time will tell if Biden’s decision was the right one. November third seems like a long way off, but it is hurtling toward this country like a meteor. The GOP has their champion. Now the Democrats will need theirs.
Thus, the deed has been done and as messy as it was, for the best intentions of their people perhaps. Perhaps for all the people. And by people, I mean the non-druid hovel-living class, who have to live in this dangerous world. Not the elites, the rich and famous.
And unlike chieftains of yore, President Biden can relax and watch as some other younger champion fights, knowing that his last sacrifice for his country was probably his greatest and most selfless one.
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