As people ask me how I think the election will turn out in November I struggle to decide what to say...
myth and literature don't treat women prophets well
there is Cassandra, given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but later cursed (punished for having refused his sexual advances; clearly quid pro quo harassment). Her curse was to be an accurate predictor of dire consequences whom no one would believe ... see, e.g., advice to Troy "don't accept gift horses" ...
and
Pollyanna, now the common name for any person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic. In Porter's book, Pollyanna was all smiles and enthusiam until dark times rocked her world and our heroine had trouble dealing ...
So shall I be optimistic and dismissed as foolish?
or
shall I predict dire consequences and be dismissed as unbelievable?
A Hobson's choice....
but then that's a subject for another post...
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