"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial". -William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 1)
In Libya a dictator has been chased out of power, and a country of people are now left with what to do in the vacuum of leadership. The excitement of new found freedom fills the air with celebratory gun fire. Libyans are standing on the edge of a perilous cliff. There is quite a bit to do in forming a government, in holding together the freedom they have fought for and in restoring normalcy to everyday life.
These scenes have and are being repeated all over the Middle East these days. They are the same scenes we saw in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. All of these are scenes repeated at various times going back through all of recorded history. We in the United States and western European countries watch and encourage the revolts.
What occurs to me is how we can become oblivious to it happening right here. That's right, revolt could happen here in our own country. Our form of government could suffer the same events middle eastern countries currently are experiencing.
We have harsh words being exchanged between the polar sides of ideology. We have false merchants of civility claiming restoration of our ideals. We have escalating debt, joblessness, greed, poverty, poor political stewardship; unrest exists within the general populace. We are not new to this if we look back upon history.
But once again, people are growing tired of the one-upmanship games being played with their lives. It is happening in western European countries and right here in the United States. All countries which look at others in revolt have to realize they too are susceptible to revolt. The peoples of our own nation have increasingly grown frustrated.
Do I compare our own government to that of a dictator? No, but I do draw a comparison between the two in that power tends to corrupt all individuals. Lord John Acton first said in 1887 that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
Lord Acton wrote this in the context of a crisis within Catholicism over the First Vatican Council's proclamation of the doctrine of papal infallibility. He said, "I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did not wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."
Applied to modern governments, our U.S. President, Congress and even Supreme Court are not above infallibility. The people when confronted by ineptness and corruption will feel backed into a corner. And yes, the possibility that the people will "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" could also happen.
I am not proposing that we do so. I am warning that the consequences of how our politicians are acting could be similar to those of nations in turmoil. While politicians may believe they have a blind populace in tow; in fact the majority see behind the curtain.
I write motivational articles and this may seem like a strange topic to cover. My intent is to motivate people to engage constructively in what is happening. We need to turn down the rhetoric between ourselves as a people. We need to listen more to each other and find common ground. It is the fervor of loud disagreement which politicians want from us. It keeps us distracted from what they are really doing.
So while we watch and read the news reports of revolt in other countries, be mindful of our own. "Nations crumble from within when the citizenry asks of government those things which the citizenry might better provide for itself" is a quote from Ronald Reagan that I extend to my conservative friends. I understand and acknowledge that from my liberal side of the fence. While there are many things a government can and should provide, we have to be mindful of the power that corrupts those in control. They are mere mortals, fallible women and men susceptible to that power.
The pendulum of ideology may swing from one side to the other. But our success as a country, as a people, depends upon keeping it swinging back and forth. Our collective conversation will overcome the challenges. Our belief in one another will allow our country to overcome these challenges. Together we will find a way.
