ye gods, it doth amaze me

Yesterday's Intellectual Devotional entry was on Julius Caesar, and said in part:

Caesar was declared dictator by the Senate in the midst of his civil war with Pompey. It was a time of crisis, and the leader was thought to require decisive, emergency powers. But the emergency never passed. The Republic was not to be restored.

Caesar ruled as dictator, but he was largely careful to maintain the appearance of consulting the Senate -- stacked with his supporters -- and respecting the government's traditions.

Sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it?

Comments

[danamongden]

I was going to make the Chavez analogy, but Sparticus beat me to it.

[Belina]

I've decided to get this book. These posts are fascinating.

[jo]

Belina:

Seriously! The Iraq war sounds like an outright plagiarism of the Peloponnesian War, particularly the lead up. Even the arguments about patriotism, and how you can't be a patriot if you don't support the war, heck, those are right out of ancient Athenian mouths. The "if you're not with us, you're against us" argument is a Peloponnesian War classic too.

The Athenians and their "invincible" Delian league/alliance posturing and seeking out new wars for new glory and resources, based on specious premises... familiar indeed.

A quick check on wikipedia about this war will let you know what the outcome was. Hint: not pretty.

Hope to god history doesn't repeat itself, that's for sure.

[Beatrce M]

Sticking with your principles is not as great as it sounds. It's the tempting easy road because it requires less thinking.

I totally disagree. Sticking with your principals is hard work, especially when it is NOT the easy way out. Principals are usually stuck to for a reason and not just blind faith. Believe me, things would be a lot easier in my life if my husband would bend just a little, but he's an idealistic man and won't budge just because it would make our lives easier. That is not a good enough reason. I'm proud of him for that, and yet it is infuriatingly frustrating at the same time.

[knapjack]

If we elected leaders for life, would we make better choices?

[MaxHedrm]

- The "Senate" is far from stacked to support Bush. Democrat majority, remember?

- The President only has 1/3 of the power in the US. Well, approximately. He has full power in some areas & none in others.

To me, of greater concern is the Dynastic turn our Executive branch is taking. Should Hillary win (Gods/Goddesses/etc forbid) the presidency will have been held by one of 2 families for 24+ years. If she wins twice, 28. If she is then followed by Jeb (could we really elect someone named Jeb?), it could be up to 36. That's a long time. Not to mention the fact that they are all (especially the Clintons) pretty verifiably crooks, interested only in their own power & legacy.