Pol*troon, n. An arrant coward; a dastard; a craven; a mean-spirited wretch. Shakespeare. adj. Base; vile; contemptible; cowardly.
It seems, at times, that we are surrounded by poltroons, from cowardly officials who won’t do the right thing to mean-spirited wretches who make Ebenezer Scrooge seem warm and generous. Whether it is a momentary lapse or a long-standing pattern of behavior, poltroonery contributes to everything that can go wrong in our society and should be challenged at every opportunity.
This blog is dedicated to calling attention to and commenting on poltroonery in its myriad forms. Sometimes we will be talking about powerful individuals who lapse into poltroonery. Institutional poltroonery will be a frequent subject. And sometimes we will hold the mirror up to our collective selves, to remind ourselves that collective poltroonery is distressingly common, the consequences of which are both predictable and avoidable.
In this blog you can think of our categories as being analogous to regular columns or features. Currently we have
- Are You Serious – blog posts about everyday poltoonery that makes you wonder what people are thinking.
- Golden Poltroon Award – an occasional recognition of those individuals and institutions who practice poltroonery at a level that approaches high art; this will likely become a highly coveted award indeed!
- Held in Contempt- blog posts dedicated to poltroonery in the realm of law and legislation; laws and legal outcomes only a poltroon could love, as well as poltroonery among those who make, enforce or judge our laws.
- View from the Stockyard- blog posts dedicated to collective poltroonery of the sort that causes us all grief that we could do without.
Comments are welcome. All we ask is that they be on point and civil.
