Everything old is new again, eh?

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

"Do not blame Caesar. Blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him, and rejoiced in their loss of freedom, and danced in his path, and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new, wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." —Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

Nice words!
Anybody, How would the modern day words, similarities, expressed in the above read ?

For you 'mericans it's simple: "Four more years"

Cannon

Awesome quote

I guess there really is "no new thing under the sun."

The Founders originally agreed that only people who owned land could be allowed to vote to elect their representatives in government.
The idea was that a voter should be "fully invested" in how the country was run and how the money was spent.

I do not understand why we now permit people who pay no taxes, but rather only suck up the dole, to vote to elect the government.
If you do not contribute cash to the government, how can you be permitted, ethically speaking, to have a voice in how that cash is to be spent?

In the Rome of Cicero, corruption had already begun, long before Julius Cæsar. There had already arisen two classes of citizens: Patrons and clients.
The patrons either worked for or inherited their money. Each client, all of them drones, found a patron off of whom to sponge.
The route to political power included amassing the largest possible "posse" of clients, who would then clamor in public for the election of their patron to political office.

Does all this seem familiar to you?

Political Wisdom from 1784:
"The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." - Edmund Burke

Hope and Change, Affordable Healthcare for All, If It saves just one child's life...take your pick.

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

The Founders originally agreed that only people who owned land could be allowed to vote to elect their representatives in government.
The idea was that a voter should be "fully invested" in how the country was run and how the money was spent.

I do not understand why we now permit people who pay no taxes, but rather only suck up the dole, to vote to elect the government.
If you do not contribute cash to the government, how can you be permitted, ethically speaking, to have a voice in how that cash is to be spent?

In the Rome of Cicero, corruption had already begun, long before Julius Cæsar. There had already arisen two classes of citizens: Patrons and clients.
The patrons either worked for or inherited their money. Each client, all of them drones, found a patron off of whom to sponge.
The route to political power included amassing the largest possible "posse" of clients, who would then clamor in public for the election of their patron to political office.

Does all this seem familiar to you?

I am going to copy and paste these words.
Pasting to people's foreheads could be a start, but that might be to extreme.
Thanks again for the words of the day.
Not bad for someone who lives on Orca's

"If the majority distributes among itself the things of a minority, it is evident that it will destroy the city." - Aristotle

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

"Do not blame Caesar. Blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him, and rejoiced in their loss of freedom, and danced in his path, and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new, wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." —Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

I borrowed this and posted it on my Facebook page. Only the choir will read it because all the Obama groupies have unfriended me.

Never ceases to amaze me how many truths can be found in history or how quickly the masses forget it. Great stuff. That Cicero was a sharp cookie. No doubt our founders where very familiar with his philosophy.

Originally Posted by pic

...Not bad for someone who lives on Orca's

I live on Orcas.
If I lived on orca's, the orca would get pretty angry.
An orca is pretty big, and it has lots of teeth, so I wouldn't want to face an angry one.


Thanks for the kind words of appreciation.

It helps to study history. That way, one is less likely to repeat it.
(...with thanks to George Santayana)

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

"Do not blame Caesar. Blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him, and rejoiced in their loss of freedom, and danced in his path, and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new, wonderful good society which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." —Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)

Very profound words however there is plenty of blame that should be shared with our modern day Caesar.