Bread And Circuses
Apr 15, 2024 08:17:23 #
John Adams, ever the prophet of doom, once quipped, “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself”—a sentiment echoing through the corridors of time.
And sounding much like the belch of a senator post-banquet in ancient Rome, where democracy was more a concept for philosophical banter than a practice.
Indeed, Rome, with all its pomp and voracious appetite for self-indulgence, serves as a cautionary tale. It’s a well-trodden path.
Once upon a time in Rome, there was Juvenal. Not your garden-variety naysayer, but a man whose tongue was so sharp, he could slice the moral fabric of society with a mere quip.
“Bread and circuses,” he scoffed.
“Keep the masses stuffed and entertained, and they won’t utter a peep against you.”
How a Great Empire Withered on Opulence
And so, Rome bloated, not just in the midriff but in its sense of self, as leisure became the national pastime.
Back then, over 200,000 souls, their fingers sticky from pastry, found the concept of lifting a finger (unless it was to signal for another helping) utterly foreign.
Rome was transformed into a grand stage, where almost every day was a festival, and the citizens were either performers, spectators, or busy in the vomitorium making room for the next course.
Naval skirmishes in makeshift lakes, chariot races that put the fast and furious to shame, and theatre so risqué it could make a statue of Venus look prudish, were all funded by the very people it was designed to distract.
Ninety-three days of sheer, unadulterated spectacle each year, turning Rome from a republic into an extravagant production, where democracy was but a whisper drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
Sound familiar?
MY COMMENT: A proper functioning Constitutional Republic requires an informed and engaged public that is willing to take the time and effort to communicate with their elected representatives on the issues that affect them. How many of you have contacted your Senators about the WTO's Pandemic Preparedness Treaty that may be put into effect without Senate ratification (they are amending the provisions of a previous treaty to get around Senate ratification). Note:Contact your two U.S. Senators and ask them to support S.444 - the “No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act”, and demand that all World Health Organization treaties be presented to the United States Senate, as required by the U.S. Constitution.
How many of you have contacted both your House and Senate members on our border problem? How about money to Ukraine and Israel instead of dealing with our infrastructure needs? “Keep the masses stuffed and entertained, and they won’t utter a peep against you.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bread-and-circuses-what-it-means-once-great-nations
And sounding much like the belch of a senator post-banquet in ancient Rome, where democracy was more a concept for philosophical banter than a practice.
Indeed, Rome, with all its pomp and voracious appetite for self-indulgence, serves as a cautionary tale. It’s a well-trodden path.
Once upon a time in Rome, there was Juvenal. Not your garden-variety naysayer, but a man whose tongue was so sharp, he could slice the moral fabric of society with a mere quip.
“Bread and circuses,” he scoffed.
“Keep the masses stuffed and entertained, and they won’t utter a peep against you.”
How a Great Empire Withered on Opulence
And so, Rome bloated, not just in the midriff but in its sense of self, as leisure became the national pastime.
Back then, over 200,000 souls, their fingers sticky from pastry, found the concept of lifting a finger (unless it was to signal for another helping) utterly foreign.
Rome was transformed into a grand stage, where almost every day was a festival, and the citizens were either performers, spectators, or busy in the vomitorium making room for the next course.
Naval skirmishes in makeshift lakes, chariot races that put the fast and furious to shame, and theatre so risqué it could make a statue of Venus look prudish, were all funded by the very people it was designed to distract.
Ninety-three days of sheer, unadulterated spectacle each year, turning Rome from a republic into an extravagant production, where democracy was but a whisper drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
Sound familiar?
MY COMMENT: A proper functioning Constitutional Republic requires an informed and engaged public that is willing to take the time and effort to communicate with their elected representatives on the issues that affect them. How many of you have contacted your Senators about the WTO's Pandemic Preparedness Treaty that may be put into effect without Senate ratification (they are amending the provisions of a previous treaty to get around Senate ratification). Note:Contact your two U.S. Senators and ask them to support S.444 - the “No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act”, and demand that all World Health Organization treaties be presented to the United States Senate, as required by the U.S. Constitution.
How many of you have contacted both your House and Senate members on our border problem? How about money to Ukraine and Israel instead of dealing with our infrastructure needs? “Keep the masses stuffed and entertained, and they won’t utter a peep against you.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bread-and-circuses-what-it-means-once-great-nations
Apr 15, 2024 09:55:30 #
Apr 15, 2024 15:10:31 #
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