Days of Bread, Circuses, and the Budget Supercommittee

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For those of you who didn't pay attention in ancient history class, let me be the first (OK then, the second) to let you know that the Roman Empire was not in fact brought down by the barbarian hordes  (or even the World of Warcraft Horde for that matter).  In fact the Roman Empire had already brought itself down, its moral and intellectual foundation having so crumbled that the first strong wind would bring it down.  It was there waiting for a tipping point, when a group of people who had once been in the service of the Empire, had the vitality and the drive that Romans once had, and were willing to earn what they needed to keep from starving (by fighting if necessary), reached the center of this empire to pick at the remains of the carcass that was once the greatness of Rome.

That greatness began to fade when the politicians (in this case the Emperor and Senate), continued to try to maintain power by giving the citizens what later became known as 'bread & circuses'.  It was Government at that point, that provided food made from the grain confiscated (taxed) from subjugated lands and peoples, and entertainment to keep them distracted from how bad things had actually become and unaware of the storm growing around them. 

Like many throughout history, the Romans soon enough discovered that the strength required to maintain an empire exacted far more than gaining it. They also learned the tragic lesson of empire that eventually the producers begin to resent those living off their labor, a resentment which will sooner or later boil over.  Unfortunately for most empires, by the time they realize these facts, they also realize that once you give citizens something that they have not earned for themselves, it's ever more difficult to withdraw it and stay in power.   Like every government before and since, they failed to learn the lesson of history that 'there's no such thing as a free lunch'; and that eventually all things must be paid for. (Of course this is a much simplified version of ancient history, but one with no factual errors that should stand up to fairly close scrutiny.)

Step forward some 15-18 centuries (depending on where you wish to begin the fall of Rome), and view now the 'empire' of the United States. (Anyone who says it's not an empire is kidding themselves. But look at a map of the location of these united 'States', and the 'territorial possessions' of this country and make your best case.)  We too are seeing our 'bread and circuses' in the form of entitlement programs handed out by a ruling elite to a common man.  (I make no comment here about the desirability of such entitlement programs, but many will be able to draw the comparisons.)

Now we see a nation just passed the $15,000,000,000,000 mark in national debt (and yes, that's 15 trillion and those are 12 zeroes).  The nation is functionally bankrupt, except for its ability to print money and functionally reduce the 'value' of the debt owed.  The upper house of Congress, the Senate, controlled by Democrats since 2007, has failed to pass a budget (good, bad, or indifferent) since April of 2009.  The House of Representatives (or lower house) , controlled by Democrats from 2007-2011 and by Republicans from early 2011 to the present, has recently passed budgets, but ones which they knew would never pass in the Senate.

In the most recent 'kick the can down the road' confrontation, the two parties once again managed to accomplish next to nothing.  No agreement to cut spending (or even significantly reduce the automatic annual increases in spending was achieved). Neither was any realistic look to increasing revenues as an offset made by closing some of the gaping loopholes in the tax code that they themselves had previously created under pressure from lobbyists and well-to-do contributing constituents.  Instead they managed to defer the jobs for which they were hired and sent to Washington for (regardless of party) to a 'Super Committee' which would, because of its smaller numbers, supposedly be able to do the heavy lifting that this larger and politically fractious group of apparent Statesmen could not.  

Not surprisingly, since most of those appointed by both parties were firmly entrenched in the political posturing of their masters, this so-called 'Super Committee also failed in its task; a failure which supposedly will lead to drastic and unsupportable cuts in the government across the board, to the tune of $1.5 trillion over 10 years.  Setting aside the trivial number involved, considering the size of the government budget and that of the debt, we find that most of these cuts are a twisted form of "Wimpy Economics" at best, where cuts are made tomorrow for tax increases imposed today.  Any actual cutting however, is usually pushed out far enough that by the time it's must be done, no one remembers it's there; making it easy for those in power to conveniently forget about it and never make the cuts.

But this is OK, according to those in power, because it allows the politicians to enter the 2012 election year with clean hands and not being directly responsible for either the raising of taxes on those contributing to campaigns (or many of those voting).  Neither are they responsible for any cutting part of the unsustainable entitlement funding that many of those not paying much in the way of taxes (also a significant voting bloc) have come to count on as part of their fair share.

Congress and the Super Committee have once again provided us a valuable lesson in ancient history, and as we see them continue to provide the modern form of 'bread and circuses' we cannot help but wonder if it will turn out better for us than it did for the Romans.  I doubt it ....
 

Three Ring Media Circus

Warning: This posting will contain adult language and adult concepts. Those who find either offensive or unacceptable may wish to leave this site now. 


Seldom in recent history have we been treated to such a series of media sideshows in such a short period. In fact both literally and figuratively, it has been a three-ring circus. 


 In ring one we have the president and his birth certificate. Of course the President always had one, but there had been some lingering question over where it had been issued from. Mr Obama had already released his short form birth certificate, a document normally good enough to get a passport issued by this country, but apparently not enough for some of the sideshow geeks and freaks (including one potential presidential candidate) whose tin-foil hats were on just a little too tight. 


Now while I have some experience with tin foil predicaments, I have to tell you that this one was mostly manufactured by a Mainstream Media on a mission, that continued to ask the question long after almost everyone had lost interest in the answer. 


The President of course, was perfectly willing to let them have their way with the situation, as it provided a bit of comic relief and misdirection from bad economic reports, worse foreign policy reports, and reports of horrendous approval numbers. Content to assume the role of innocent victim in this, the President finally brought out the long form Certificate Of Live Birth, which only allowed those who spend most of their time biting heads off of chickens on a political right gone so far around the bend as to be almost left again, to question its authenticity as well. 


Meanwhile self-appointed Ringmaster Donald tipped his top hat (exposing a haircut far worse that any forged document) and patted himself on the back for allowing the president to make him simultaneously a front runner in Republican poling and a caricature. 


In ring two we have the royal wedding. Don't get me wrong here, while managing to miss every bit of the coverage (both during and subsequent to the event) I hear it was both a beautiful ceremony and majestic spectacle, that the dress Kate wore was lovely, and that Prince William looked grand in his military uniform. Of course I place such information in the same category as the fact that the first married couple shown sleeping together in the same bed on TV were ... (wait for it) "Fred and Wilma Flintstone". 


The marriage of two people turned into the initiation ceremony in an out-of-date monarchy in Great Britain should only be news for Cosmo and People magazine (and of course TMZ). The fact that every mainstream media outlet and news network felt obligated to send front line anchors and reporters to cover what was billed as the biggest marriage ceremony since .... Prince William's parents, is a commentary on society in general and what reporting the news in particular has sunk to. That a country that recently had to scale back services that it provided to its citizens had to shell out for the security and ancillary costs of such an event speaks volumes to the concept of giving 'bread and circuses' to the peasants. By the way, I hope that the newlyweds are very happy together, produce lots of little princes and princess (hopefully without their grandfather's hideous ears), and manage to stay out of the news for a very long time. 


In ring three we have perhaps the main event, the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now there is little doubt that this POS deserved to die. That being said, the Navy Seals who actually carried out the mission may have been doing the bastard a favor. He was after all rumored to be in failing health, with stories (yet unproven) that he required use of a dialysis machine regularly. Even more incredible than this bastard's death however, is the strange stories that continue to come out surrounding it. He had a gun ... well no, actually he didn't. He used his wife as a human shield ... well, not so much. He resisted being taken. He resisted being taken? Let me tell you, while never having faced Navy Seals in hostile territory, under enemy fire, and with public enemy number one right in front of them; I would suggest that the ability of a 53 year-old terrorist to resist is hardly something of concern. 


Of course the politicians, in typical fashion, quickly moved beyond the heroic efforts of those whose sweat and blood were expended in this effort and to the front of the parade. Instead of tales of the personal heroism of troops on the ground, we were regaled with stories of the bravery and strength of character of politicians and shiny pants generals who made the decision that someone (and not them) needed to go into harms way. 


We were shown pictures of an inner circle, none of whom has probably carried a weapon, let alone fired it in anger; with sleeves rolled up and glaring intently at the televised version of events like it was the final episode of "Terrorist Survivor" (which of course, it was). Then of course there was the courtesy done to this murdering piece of crap after first doing him the discourtesy of killing him. We must of course insure that the body was buried within the 24 hour period as required by Muslim tradition, and it was felt that a burial at sea would prevent pilgrimages to his grave site, even one that would no doubt have been kept secret (well as secret as governments are capable of keeping things). 


Personally I would have preferred to have seen him get the same burial treatment that Hitler got, doused in gasoline and set on fire, but no one called to ask me. If they really felt the need for a burial at sea however, using the body of this now former terrorist to chum the water for sharks would have been more than suitable as funerary arrangements with me. 


In the end however, we have little or nothing for the 'big blow off' and little to show for what should have been the big finish of the week. No body, no real proof of the killing; not even a picture of the corpse that the tin-foil hats could argue over the authenticity of. We are told that a picture may be released at some point, though its graphic depiction may be disturbing. (Has anyone at the White House watched HBO lately?) 


We may have achieved a form of vengeance on this evil person, but to what purpose? Will terrorism stop now? Will we be able to stop flying over Libya, pull out of Iraq or Afghanistan (or South Korea, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, or the hundred other places around the world where we have troops deployed)? Will this mean that the intrusive surveillance measures of 'The Patriot Act', passed for our protection, will now be withdrawn. Will we now be able to fly without being scoped or groped and feel safe in the 'friendly skies' again? Will any of these circus acts get those who need and want it a good paying job, lower their taxes, or reduce the crushing national deficit that threatens this nation's very existence?  


Of course not, but they were great fun and a wonderful distraction for many while they lasted. What's more, they were all good theater and helped flagging network TV ratings. And though they appear to be over for now, don't despair. There's always the usual brand of clowns to keep us at least mildly entertained while we wait for the big top to return. And there's little doubt of course, that the media circus will indeed be in town again soon.

Bread & Circuses

The Toledo Blade printed a special section recently on the impending grand opening of the new Lucas County Arena in Toledo. Soon to be the home of the "Walleyes" hockey team and the "Bullfrogs" (our new arena football franchise), this modern cathedral of entertainment is all but ready for its debut. 

While the naming rights for this new venue have yet to decided, it has even gained a nickname through the efforts of Fred Lefebvre of WSPD, calling it the "FinkRink" in honor of outgoing mayor Carlton S Finkbeiner. As well as the above named sporting events, this new facility is already destined as an true entertainment hot spot, with many other types of amusement on the way including: comedy, music concerts, and yes, even the circus will come to town here in Toledo. 

This special section in the daily paper and some of the recent posts on "Thurber's Thoughts", along with the closeness of the upcoming elections, got me making strange connections (yeah I know, big surprise). "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," said George Santayana, and I think perhaps he was right. It seems to me that our politics today have a curious parallel to historic events. 

You see, the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire came when the people began to lose touch with what had made it (and them) the heart of civilization, the seat of reason, and the center of justice and freedom in the world. Some part of the spirit that drove the creation and growth of something that had never been seen before in Europe seemed to have gone out of it. Something of that greatness, not only of its leaders, but of the people themselves seems to have dried up, withered, and died. 

The Romans, somehow forgetting the very principles that made them great, diminished as a government. Wearied with almost never ending wars and perhaps robbed of some of their best and brightest as a consequence, they began to fail as a people. The citizens, grasping almost desperately at glories of the past, sought instead a standard of living that they no longer earned and cheap entertainment to fill the growing emptiness within them. 

The Roman government of the time, being shrewd politicians rather than great leaders and recognizing the threat to their power, gave in to these desires. They held huge gladiatorial contests in their grand coliseums with recreations of past glories, with the life and death struggle of men pitted against beasts and each other, and finally with people whose opinions differed from those of the leaders being horrifically sacrificed. 

The common people were entertained with the pomp and ceremony of these "games". They had all of the drama of life and death, all of the inspiration and indoctrination required to keep them content with their leaders, and of course bread and wine were distributed. You see, you couldn't very well expect these mere shadows of what were once a great people to sit through a day of entertainment without being fed and having something to ease throats that were parched from cheering such entertainment. 

I think about that a lot now, as I see Toledo spending over $100 million on this new entertainment venue. Likewise for many of the citizens of the US slouched in front of their televisions, seeking other idle amusements. And while they pass their often meaningless hours, they clamor for their leaders to give them ever more. Pay our mortgages and give us special deals to buy new cars or refrigerators. Provide us with health care and insure our retirement. Whatever it is that we want to keep us happy, give it to us now whether we have worked for it or not. 

Yet like those Romans of history, we could all too soon find ourselves with the Huns, the Mongols, and the Vandals at the gate as we enjoy our pastimes. Even as we attempt to amuse ourselves, history may well be recording this as the dimming of the yet another bright light in the dark tide of the history of Man. Caught up in our 'bread and circuses', we may at last be forgetting the best part of ourselves and ignoring that which seeks to destroy us from without and within.