Ya know, Quasimodo predicted all this.
The Soprano-fication of American Politics
Do you remember this scene from the Sopranos?
It’s from Season 4, Episode 1 titled “For All Debts, Public and Private.”
After spending time together in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Tony and Bobby are sharing a meal together at a local diner. For some reason, Tony’s only eating scrambled eggs and a few thin slices of tomato. Bobby, on the other hand — well, you know Bobby ordered more than that. He’s got a plate full of curly fries with a side of steak. Within minutes, Tony — undoubtedly jealous of Bobby’s meal — orders the same.
The scene continues with Tony asking Bobby about the state of his family.
Tony Soprano: “How’s the family doing since, you know, the tragedy with your dad?”
Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri: “Rough on my mother”
Tony: “Yeah, well, how old is she now?”
Bobby: “She’s 69.”
Brief silence.
Bobby: Mom started going downhill after the World Trade Center. Ya know, Quasimodo predicted all this.”
Tony: “Who did what?”
Bobby: “All these problems — the Middle East, the end of the world.”
Tony: “Nostradamus. Quasimodo’s the Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
Bobby: “Oh, right… Notre Damus.”
Tony: “Nostradamus and Notre Dame. It’s two different things completely.”
Bobby: “It’s interesting though, huh? That they’re so similar.”
What a dialogue. Hands down, this is one of my favorite scenes from the entire series. Why, do you ask? Well, first I find Bobby’s character hilarious. I love how he’s underestimated and under appreciated throughout the series, but continually one of the most loyal members of the Soprano family. Second, I appreciate this scene for the context in which it was aired.
Remember life before Netflix and HBO Max? You know, when you had to wait a week before you could watch the latest episode of your favorite TV series? While I’m not quite old enough to have used physical TV Guides, I do remember sitting in front of our living room television, watching the on-screen guide scroll steadily from left to right as it laid out the day’s network schedule on our curved TV monitor. Back then, if you missed the time slot you were looking for, you had to wait for the 24-hour ticker to make its way back across the screen just to see when your show was coming on.
There was something special about the shared experience we had with television prior to the advent of on-demand streaming.
Every so often, there were shows that captivated the American consciousness — shows so compelling that families planned their dinners around them.
Although I was watching milder shows at the time, I’ve heard from others that The Sopranos exactly that kind of show.
So, with Season 4 Episode 1 primed and ready to be aired at 9:00 pm EST on September 15, 2002, I can only imagine that the country was filled with great anticipation.
And yet, on that day, something deeper stirred within the American consciousness.
Just 4 days earlier, the country observed the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A year prior to this episode’s release, on that fateful Tuesday morning, 2,977 civilians — including 441 first responders — tragically lost their lives.
So, as you can imagine, on Sunday, September 15th, 2002, thousands of families were missing a loved one as they sat around their living room TVs to watch The Sopranos.
Our country, in a state of grief and anger, was in need of a bit of comedic relief — and Bobby Bacala and Tony Soprano delivered it, as only they could.
Well, how much has American politics changed since the airing of that Soprano’s episode?
A hell of a lot.
Just in the last 4 months, we’ve witnessed the full Soprano-fication of our American political system.
We no longer live in a country united by common cause, where political norms and traditions guide our President, Congress, or U.S. Senate. No, today we live in a nation where “might is right” and power is brandished like a weapon.
This week alone, the Chief Executive abolished the Department of Education and relinquished its former responsibilities — namely student-loan servicing and funding for special needs and nutrition programs — to the Small Business Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively.
According to Associated Press, 1,300 individuals, nearly half of the entire staff at the Department of Education, have lost their jobs.1 However, this is just a drop in the bucket in comparison to the larger federal layoffs led by Elon Musk and the Department of Governmental Efficiency. According to CNN, at least 105,961 federal workers have been fired since Donald Trump came into office.2
Considering all of this, it appears the Trump Administration has fully embraced Tony Soprano’s style of leadership and the Republican Party has chosen to fall in line… or else.
Being that we are so newly into this administration, the consequences of their actions are not yet fully known. However, it is fair to say — if we examine their movement from a meta level — that they have ushered in a new era of American politics where the rule of law is malleable and the Chief Executive has no guardrails.
I mean, we first saw glimpses of this style of politics after Barack Obama’s election in 2008. Instead of promising to work with the incoming President, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) vowed the opposite and set out to make Obama a “one term President,” unless he ideologically moved toward the G.O.P. and governed accordingly.3
Not too long afterward, Representative Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) interrupted President Obama during his first State of the Union address by shouting “You lie!” — ushering in an age where State of the Union addresses have become analogous to W.W.E. monologues.
Where, then, do we head from here?
That’s up to us, the American People.
I refuse to be a prisoner of despair. Instead, I willfully put on the heavy chains of hope.
Yes, carrying hope can be heavy burden in times of chaos and disillusionment. And yet, it remains far better than a life of despair.
After a heated sit-down with his crew, where some members are questioning whether or not to whack Ralph Cifaretto, Tony explodes (I know, uncommon right?) and shouts:
“I’m the motherf’ing one who calls the shots!”
In a world where the concept of democracy seems to be teetering on the edge, and where unadulterated power reigns supreme, this administration has chosen to “Don” itself in mafia-like bravado — operating through loyalty tests, unsubtle quests for domination, and utter disregard for institutional norms.
Let us work toward brighter, more hopeful days — when “justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream,” as the American prophet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said.
And let us do so urgently, because well, you know, Quasimodo did predict all this.
https://apnews.com/article/education-department-layoffs-job-cuts-linda-mcmahon-ce9f6a8a63972aede0d8fbdf057ab788
https://www.cnn.com/politics/tracking-federal-workforce-firings-dg/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40007802