Mission
Satirical Ridicule
In the tradition of Molière, the Molière Citations intend to provide Satirical Ridicule to our readers and audience.
With no apologies to Finley Peter Dunne, we accept as a part of our mission Mr. Dooley’s 1893 observation about the mission of the media: “To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Without limitation, a non-exclusive list of examples of the Mission of Molière Citations would include:
- Ridicule hypocrites
- Call out deliberate misnomers
- Draw invidious comparisons
- Disparage unworthy recipients of awards
- Deride public figures who are in need of a reality check
- Scoff
- Demand justice
- Invite Participation
Our Vision
We envision a lively and humorous publication, making good-natured though trenchant fun of those who take themselves seriously while laboring under the delusion of their chosen work and causes actually benefiting those they claim to represent.
A preliminary list of the types of citation recipients would include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Elected Officials
- Appointed Officials
- Bureaucrats
- Whistleblowers
- Lobbyists and their clients
- Those who subscribe to the notion of “Rules for thee but not for me”
- Participants in the so-called “weaponization of the bureaucracy”
In the grand tradition of Molière, we envision using satire to shed light on the foibles of these and others in the public arena for the benefit of our audience.
Our Values
If our readers perceive a tendency toward moderate “American” values, it is probably due to the more outrageous examples we see of citation candidates coming from the left and far right.
Hypocrisy and misdirection loom large among the actions of Molière Citation recipients, and (at least from the perspective of our value system) they tend to manifest in the extremes of the political spectrum.
When in doubt, we tend to look for guidance toward the text and court rulings under the U. S. Constitution, with emphasis on First Amendment rights and protections.
In observance of Molière’s sense of humor and the absurd, we also honor such well-known phenomena as the Law of Unintended Consequences, which often applies to governmental and corporate actions.
Confirmation bias and cognitive bias also come into play in evaluating the validity and appropriateness of public actions; when the effects of such unacknowledged biases appear, the result is often risible and subject to ridicule.
The point of recognition that hypocrisy is in full swing may be reached under the circumstances described by Malcolm Gladwell in his book “The Tipping Point.” Our value in this scenario is in identifying the circumstances under which the pendulum will either swing back toward the center or continue its momentum and pull down the entire structure from which it is suspended.
A few examples of this value perspective would be bestowing undeserved awards by highly regarded organizations, selection of individuals to serve in responsible positions based on ticking boxes instead of merit and capability, the imposition of management and regulatory fads that turn out to benefit organizations only in concept (not in practice), and similar misguided initiatives in dire need of unbiased evaluation.
We live in a dynamic, not static, world; as such, we recognize that the validity of today’s science and experience is under constant revision. Accordingly, Molière Citations is open to factual correction, honest criticism, and invite your constructive comments on our undertaking.
Let us hope that the satirical humor we intend to invoke will serve our organization and audience more positively than when the play “Le Tartuffe” [“The Hypocrite”] was banned due to the protests of powerful people supported by the Catholic Church.
