Is it possible that what may save us from the political disaster we’re living through is pure Fool energy? Could it be that—more than protests and lawsuits—what ultimately rescues us is dancing, delight, and unapologetic Foolishness?
Portland, Expecting Doom… and Choosing Play
For months I dreaded a federal show of force in Portland, Oregon. My intuition said it was the logical target for a maximal authoritarian flex. Portland has all the necessary history. It was the headquarters for the American Nazi movement prior to World War II. And then there was a long, loud counter-history—artists, woo-woos, college kids, mystics, nude bike rides, and the endlessly invoked specter of “Antifa.” In short: the perfect symbol for the far right to try to crush.
When deployment was announced—National Guard plus a strong contingent of the ICE Orcs — I braced for the worst. Instead, Portlanders greeted it with protesters dressed as inflatable frogs and dancing bananas. Someone declared an “emergency nude bike ride,” and thousands of bare bodies on glittering bicycles poured into the streets.
The effect? Paralysis by absurdity. How does a macho, heavily armed ICE Orc “win” against a dancing banana? Left-brain force met right-brain play and simply short-circuited. The nation watched inflatable amphibians wiggle across our screens—and we laughed.
Remembering the Original Fool
We forget: in the oldest Tarot, The Fool wasn’t a tidy wanderer in tailored tights. He was a street entertainer—juggler, dancer, illusionist—utterly at home in an inflatable frog suit. In medieval courts, the Fool doubled as Sacred Jester, the one person allowed to lampoon the king and point out when the Emperor had no clothes.
That’s what Portland’s play did: it punctured the costume of power.
Why Laughter Works
Authoritarianism demands reverence. It thrives when we’re solemn and frightened. Laughter breaks the spell. It reveals the man behind the curtain, the baggy suit, the orange pancake makeup. Humor pulls us back into the Universal flow of playfulness and creativity, where life replenishes itself. Authoritarianism sits outside that flow; it eventually collapses under its own rigidity.
A Fool for Dark Times
We often gaze at the modern, elegant Fool and forget his deeper medicine. The original Fool brought giggles and belly-laughs during dark eras. That may be precisely what we need now.
Does this mean we abandon lawsuits, organizing, or policy? Of course not. It means we season courage with joy, protest with parody, pressure with play. When we add the Fool, we recover something essential: our sovereign refusal to be grim.
The Vanguard in Frog Suits
I didn’t expect the resistance to arrive on two wheels in nothing but body paint, but here we are—and it makes perfect sense. The antidote to the present darkness may well be to harness Fool energy and refuse to stop playing.
Let’s keep showing up with discipline and delight. March and mock. Organize and improvise. Because when we laugh together, power’s mask slips—and light gets in.
Just the Tarot 