Ancient Rome and the loss of democracy
We must always remember that dictatorship is often grasped gratefully by the populace it rules over; and that liberty is never a battle that is won, but a forever ongoing struggle.
Most people know of Julius Caesar, the great autocrat. Most people however do not know how he got there, and why his removal of democracy was so accepted.
The fact is that corruption had riddled the republic for years before Caesar and bipartisanship was so savage that at one point a faction of Roman senators beat to death their opposite number. The accepted norms of behaviour and rulership were obliterated, worn down by corruption, brutal political bickering and power games. Senators declared year long religious holidays to block votes on issues they disagreed with and procedure was used as a weapon to delay and prevent the system working as intended; no one stopped the senators, no one punished them and as a result their collective effort ended the Roman republic permanently.
Political division has been the United States biggest weakness for a long time now; it has never truly gone away but instead lain dormant under the surface of the country's discourse. Until now. The political norms have been abolished, the system is being internally sabotaged in a short sighted power game. Just like in ancient Rome the republic is seen as everlasting, and so no attempt is made to defend it from internal threats; because after all, how could America not be a democracy? This complacency could be the death of democracy.
Although Caesar ended democracy, the far more important figure was the man who came after him and who one of our months is still named after. That is Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. He ensured there would be safety by promising an end to theft, violence and political instability. The people seeing no other choice did more than merely accept Augustus, they venerated him. He made the end of freedom fashionable and snuffed out the republic, even the very idea of it, forever.
Trump is not the next Augustus, nor even the next Caesar. He is in fact the corruption that paved the way for their ascension. He is the face that discredits democracy and causes so much chaos that the next Caesar becomes a hero. We must always remember that dictatorship is often grasped gratefully by the populace it rules over; and that liberty is never a battle that is won, but forever an ongoing struggle.
