Sisyphus, Luke, and the GOP

If you don't remember Sisyphus from Greek mythology, let me refresh your memory: He was the poor sap doomed to spend eternity pushing a rock up a hill only to watch it roll back down ... over and over and over.

Oddly enough, I found him one of the more inspiring mythological figures, perhaps because in an essay about Sisyphus, Albert Camus essentially reached this conclusion, if memory serves me correctly: Sisyphus might have been doomed, but he could still – in those precious moments when he walked back down that hill, muscles aching, sweat dripping from his brow, before he began his labor anew – he could still curse the gods and salvage what was left of his dignity.

Not the most uplifting conclusion, I suppose, but still an apt analogy, I think, for many of life's struggles, through which there will always be the satisfaction of consciousness, of cursing the barriers even when they are insurmountable, of knowing that your effort is often its own reward, regardless of the accomplishment or lack thereof.

And yes, when I read reports like the one making the rounds now – about a majority of Republicans disavowing evolution – I feel a degree of what Sisyphus must have felt.

If you've ever seen the movie Cool Hand Luke, with Paul Newman in the title role, you might recognize Luke as the contemporary equivalent of Sisyphus, especially in that classic fight scene where George Kennedy's character is beating the snot out of him, and Luke keeps standing back up, ready for more, and Kennedy's character keeps yelling at him, "Stay down! Stay down!" But no matter how much Luke hurts, no matter how hopeless the fight, he will clearly force Kennedy's character to kill him before he stays down.

Since announcing my intent to return to the GOP and work for its reform from within the Party, a number of people have told me to "stay down." With the gut punch of these latest findings re: GOP voters and evolution, I'm sure the volume of the naysayers will intensify.

But news flash: I won't quit. No matter how bleak the outlook, I will continue to stand up, I will keep pushing the rock up the hill, and yes, I will take satisfaction in knowing that more than one battle has been eventually won through sheer will, survival, persistence.