America’s Own ‘Game of Thrones’

Game of Thrones might be the greatest modern fictional example of the dangers of seeking absolute power. The HBO series, adapted from George R.R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, is at its core, a story of what happens when people are willing to stoop to any level to reach positions of power. 

House of the Dragon, the prequel show and book series to Game of Thrones, has a similar theme. And in one of the recent episodes, one character sums up this lesson perfectly in one quote. 

While addressing one of the many seekers of the Iron Throne, Daemon Targaryen, the character Alys says of the crown, “Perhaps those who strive for it are the least suited to wear it.” This prophetic statement is as true in our real world as it is in the fictional realm of Westeros. And it feels especially true during a presidential election year.

Bread and Circus

Turn on the news or doom scroll and you will have a front row seat to a real-life Game of Thrones unfolding before your very own eyes. Presidential candidates and their supporters seem to have zero qualms with checking their morals at the door and doing whatever needs to be done if they feel the ends justify the means. 

At the risk of sounding like the alarmists who exclaim “this is the most important election in our lifetime,” every single election cycle, this election season does seem to be uniquely different not because it is the most important, but because certain events have made the obsession with power more blatantly apparent than in recent years.

Already in this election season we have seen the attempted assassination of Donald Trump–the first such attempt since President Ronald Regan in 1981. Not to mention, the spectacle of the Democratic Party turning on its own candidate President Joe Biden, who subsequently stepped down after swearing that he would not. Almost instantaneously, Kamala Harris was anointed as the chosen one and launched her own campaign in full force almost as if it had been planned all along.

Somewhere along the line, the 2024 election season turned into a hybrid of VEEP and House of Cards spawning America’s own Game of Thrones where some are willing to kill to prevent a candidate from becoming the leader of the free world. 

The use of the word “Game” is important here because to politicos, elections are gamified and no matter the outcome, the people lose. Don’t be fooled, it’s not about what is right; it’s about their team winning. 

The most dangerous aspect of the quest for power is when it becomes gamified, so to speak. It’s not about what is right; it’s about your team winning. It’s not about serving the people; it is about imposing your will. It’s ego. It’s corruption. It is, as the ancient Romans called it, “bread and circus.” 

And the 2024 Presidential Election is, above all things a circus. And for many of us the expression “not my circus, not my monkeys” applies as none of these candidates seem to be in this race to protect our individual rights. 

Not one of these candidates is fit to sit on the Oval Office “throne” because each wants it too badly. Therein lies the problem with our political system. 

Don’t Run–Stand

It is said that political candidates in post-revolutionary America believed that they should be called to civic duty–to “stand” for office instead of “run” for office, as we call it today. 

George Washington only agreed to be considered for the American presidency because it was asked of him and not because he sought the position. Washington was not even involved with his own campaign. Maybe that explains why he was the obvious choice of the people. 

Oh, how drastically things have changed. 

America aches for a candidate who reluctantly comes forward to stand for office when it is asked. But does such a person even exist in modern politics? As House of Dragon alludes, when we have candidates who are lusting after the job, no one truly deserves it.

At this point, if we are going to live in an actual Game of Thrones, I am choosing to turn off the debates and broadcasted political grandstanding and stick to House of the Dragon-at least it has dragons and witty dialogue.