On legacies
Long life
by Sheila Hancock
The world is inundated with celebrities. They dance, kick balls and eat slugs underwater en route to fame. Their stars burn bright for a short while then disappear into oblivion, not having done much harm—except perhaps to themselves. But every now and then a person emerges who has an earth-shattering effect on our future.
They’re usually weirdos. Now a sexoffending, unstable felon is to lead the western world. He’s less lethal than Hitler and Stalin, but he’s still disturbing. What quality do these people have in common— how do they blind us to their danger and make us follow them?