The Great Boris Johnson Unleashed

The myth of Sisyphus

On a recent trip to a theatrical stage, I met a sophisticated and towering middle-aged man, who explained to me the importance of being on the right side of history. He appeared particularly persuasive, educated, and progressive, with his lovely British accent, in comparison to my brute and little self, especially since English is my second language and, therefore, I speak it with a funny accent. Perhaps, I should have asked him to discuss this weighty and timely issue in Vietnamese, Punjabi, or possibly Tunica. It dawned on me that victors have always been on the right side of history.¹

I then felt dejected and disheartened. I remembered that my daughter Olympia, on multiple occasions, had accused me of being too sensitive, delicate, and fragile. In fact, she said that I was like Fluffy, her pet rabbit. What she didn’t realize is that I am a rabbit, being born in August 1975. So, I am an authentic, certifiable, and legitimate rabbit, according to the Chinese zodiac.

Now, I, comfortably alone at home, muster the courage to write him a letter, putting it out there, into nothingness, and hoping my British friend would have a chance to read it. Perhaps, he can forgive my ignorance.

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To a dear British friend,

You ask me to remember the fires at Dachau,

the smokes at the World Trade Center,

the rubble of London, and

the whispers in an attic in Amsterdam,

and so forth.

I promise to remember and cherish those memories and lessons.

But what about the cries at Jallianwala Bagh,

the tears of Setif and Guelma,

the moans in Rawagede,

the bubbles in the Baltic Sea,

and so forth.

They’re too etched in my heart and mind.

I ask that of you, too.

Sincerely,

Quan Nguyen

bubbles in the Baltic Sea

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As I write this, I cannot help but remember what my late father, Toai Nguyen, taught me, “Remember to stay on the right side,” while teaching me to drive years ago.  He passed away in 2022, but I still remember to stay on the right side, except while driving in the United Kingdom. Otherwise, the incoming traffic might be a slight problem.  Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson would have known that.  Like the Great Gatsby, he’s an Oxford man.²  Similar to Gatsby’s green light, the end of history is just a distant and, perhaps, illusory dream.³

To the Great Boris, the end of history, in the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald,

must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.

The Great Boris, inadvertently, might have passed it on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine.

So great yet so little.

‘Memento mori,’ a Roman auriga whispered.

So it goes.

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Then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walk in Independence Square, in Kyiv, Ukraine, 2022 (Sergei Chuzavkov via Getty Images)

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The artist Chalotte Wahl, the Great Boris’ mother, taught him that every picture needs a hero. She’s right. But that’s before the age of public relations, marketing, and propaganda.

But then comes disillusionment.

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I realize that the Great Boris’ autobiography Unleashed will be released later this month. I urge readers to donate $36, the cost of the book on Amazon.com, to their preferred charities, in lieu of purchasing the book. A true hero, like the Great Boris, would appreciate that act of kindness and charity.

I hope readers will share this post to their loved ones. In the process, it might reach the Great Boris himself.

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Thank you for reading. Please subscribe and share my post, if you enjoy my thoughts, to assist me in this new journey. I have decided to dedicate a portion of my time and energy to write on this substack, hoping to spread a message of caution, prudence, and watchfulness in this chaotic period. We do the part that we can.

1. ‘History is written by the victors,’ as stated unabashedly by a late British politician.

2. Gatsby is the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. He lives an illusory life.

3. Interested readers are recommended to read Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and the Last Man. In this book, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama argues that with the ascendancy of Western liberal democracy—which occurred after the Cold War (1945–1991) and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)—humanity has reached "not just ... the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: That is, the end-point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government."