...and it is NOT Ulysses by James Joyce!
Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
These are my favorite lines from Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "The Little Prince", where the fox shares with us the truth that men have forgotten. That basically it is not with our eyes that we see, but that it is our heart that guides us to what is essential. It also explains in part why I am gravitating towards him over one of the clearly qualified female candidates. My heart understands that, while I want a woman to run this country, my stronger desire is to find someone who will start to heal this country. There is no theoretical reason that could not be a female, but "Mayor Pete" seems to be the one who has tamed me.
Ironically, the little prince seems to have met Donald Trump on his voyages. In describing the six other planets that he has visited, these two look strikingly familiar:
- A king with no subjects, who only issues orders that can be followed, such as commanding the sun to set at sunset.
- A narcissistic man who only wants the praise which comes from admiration and being the most-admirable person on his otherwise uninhabited planet.
Anyone who counts this book among their favorites has a direct line to my soul. That he can read it in 7 of the 300 languages it has been translated into is impressive indeed, but most importantly I like that he seems to have digested the profound messages of our friend on B612.
For those curious about this candidate, who want to get away from packaged soundbites, I recommend the Commonwealth Club video. Clara Jeffery, Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief, moderated the hour long discussion, which covers quite a few topics:
Commonwealth Club - Pete Buttigieg