Ichabod Crane Takes Modern Banking to Task
Thursday, October 16, 2014 by Jonathan R. Gibbons in
Fox’s “Sleepy Hallow” is a creative show which has found a way to incorporate a time traveling American Founding Father who provides hysterical commentary on current American idiocies (i.e. every political science and American history scholar’s wet dream), into a plot based on Washington Irving’s classic short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow”. Writer’s Mark Goffman and Albert Kim brilliantly provide a critique of modern banking and monetary policy in Season 2 Episode 2, “The Kindred”.
Ichabod Crane, played by Tom Mison, goes on a rant when a bank representative tries to offer him a credit card, “It is this kind of gross invitation to indulgence that mocks the power of the invisible hand to foster the true wealth of nations.” Thomas Jefferson is also quoted in the scene as having said, “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” This is most likely an authentic quote despite the often spurious forms it takes.
Regardless of Goffman and Kim’s possible intentions behind the script, let’s dissect this brilliant quote:
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