August 20, 2012

Some Roads Lead to Rome ⁴

by Barry Strauss • Caesar's Ghost, Leadership, Masters of Command • Tags: cato, julius caesar, Kathleen Parker, presidential election, Washington Post

Kathleen Parker’s op-ed in today’s Washington Post, “All Roads Lead to Rome,” woke up Caesar’s Ghost.

“Hail, Professor!”

“Hail, Dictator!”

Kathleen Parker complains like Cicero, about the times and the mores. Today’s politicians, she says, are constrained “to say as little of substance as possible and to say it often.” The citizenry has become a distracted mob, unable to focus long on anything, and so deluded that they will even cheer the loss of their freedom. It’s all, Ms. Parker says, reminiscent of the Roman Empire.

She has a point, don’t you think, Caesar? More