Anonymous: Cartoon of the funeral of Pastor Abraham van de Velde, 1677

Gallery Notes:
Cartoon of the funeral of Reverend Abraham van de Velde, June 14, 1677. A long funeral parade of 4 rows of men with steep ears or donkey ears moves with the corpse of Ds. van der Velde from the House of Unrest over 'the miserable kerkhof', past some tombstones with appropriate inscriptions to the church of the Spiritual Supreme Wore. Some crying sisters lead the procession; in the middle a banner with the inscription 'The profession of Troyen'. The print includes a text sheet with legend. The Footian pastor had previously been banished from Utrecht and played a role in the conflict in Zeeland between the Footians and Coccejans in 1675.

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"He never understood why he couldn't make the universe dance once he'd gained advantage."

In NextWorld, accolites will vote to enable their leader to choose what to support. That leader will ignore popular opinion and decide to satisfy his desire for vengence against both those he imagined wronged him and innocent, unrelated citizens, for their leader considers himself omnipotent. Their leader intends this novel use of enfrancisement to undermine the future will to vote. As citizens see that their votes influence nothing, they might choose to disenfranchise themselves further. Their indifference could become the most significant influence in future elections, guaranteeing that only the most dishonest candidates succeed. The DeVoted followers might never suspect that they are victims of deliberate DeVoting, a betrayal of everything their country used to say it stood for. By then, the population will have become overwhelmingly cynical, able to explain everything wrong without exhibiting a notion about what might have always been right or how to repair anything broken. It becomes Down With Everything except their disconnected leader. Then it becomes Down With Him, too.

Those most supportive of DeVoting will naturally be the least capable of deciding anything. It turns out that when deprived of the encumbrance of due process, no process adequately compensates. Attempts to make a representative government efficient undermine the very purpose of representative government. The one designated, or self-designated, to decide for others cannot even decide for himself, for he has no basis upon which to resolve anything. He rules by whim then, uninformed by the people's will and uninterested in understanding that will, if there's even one by that point. He leads aimlessly, which is not leading at all. Without an electorate willing, even anxious to throw his butt out, he cannot fulfill his rightful role. He cannot be the executive of only himself.

He squelches dissidents. They serve as the designated Other and must remain irrelevant if DeVoting is to succeed. They must be characterized as being out of touch, representing the past rather than the present. Of course, everyone's out of touch under this regime. Little makes any sense in the absence of willful voters and spirited dissent. It might be that only irreverence can make a dent in DeVoting. When everything seems to be the most serious, irreverence might make the most difference. Of course, this all represents serious business, a genuine Constitutional Crisis. The courts deliberate and decide, and still, the leader attempts to impose his will upon functions he had no authority to influence. He's deaf, blind, and dumber than a post, but he still has the most followed postings on social media. It might be best for all if we could somehow turn a deaf ear to his rantings, to contribute our most sincere indifference to his works. Since they were always incoherent, attending to them yields no different result.

I can't keep up with his latest focus. I understand that this must be part of a plan. He might slip through a few significant changes when I feel overwhelmed by insignificance. He represents an infection. I always wondered what an infection would do if it could succeed in taking over. Doesn't it need a host to survive? If the infection kills its host, it's next for extinction. It becomes even more threatened if it manages to become a full-blown contagion. It engages in a contest it can only win by losing, and only lose by overwhelmingly winning. The balance inherent within a contested ballot box helps maintain a healthy system. A healthy system might appear most chaotic because it can successfully operate across a spectrum of conditions that any single-purpose system could not. The despot lacks requisite variety to thrive and must settle for a bland diet of complaining and ineffective retribution.

Those who disenfranchise voters disenfranchise themselves. Their clever strategies ultimately only serve to undermine their intentions. For instance, selecting only the best and brightest invokes a profound and unresolvable paradox. In any population, however carefully chosen, only one person can ever be 'best.' Then the question becomes: best for what purpose? The proliferation of purposes renders the question meaningless. The best anyone has ever managed when pursuing the best and brightest is a population somewhat suited for everything and ultimately the best at precisely nothing. Ask the philosophers why.

Only the naive seek dominion, for it levies intolerable taxes. The one in charge cannot take charge. The one intent upon imposing their will lacks the skill to impose discipline upon himself. He grows ever older and more flabby. The world he complained about when running for office turns shabbier for his presence. He impaled himself upon the standard paradoxes of office. He never understood why he couldn't make the universe dance once he'd gained advantage.

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #NextWorld, #PureSchmaltz