Monday, June 22, 2009

panem et circenses

A half a world away, thousands of individuals are waking up from a 30-year slumber. They are starting to realize their government is lying to them, and that they will do anything to keep in power, including killing its citizens who protest.

A half a world away, a tyrannical dictator is waving his saber armed with a nuclear tip at us, threatening to blow up the world in order to assuage his feelings of inadequacy.

A half a world away, soldiers are sacrificing their limbs and lives so that we can live in freedom, and free from fear of the evil bastards that would do us harm.

Yet here, what do most people want to talk about?

*A pair of spoiled brats who get married and can't seem to decide whether or not to stay on a reality show.

*A couple who sold out themselves and their kids to be viewed by the public, at the cost of their own marriage.

*Who wins a singing or dancing show.

These things take up our mindset, constantly.

The Roman poet Juvenal wrote a phrase 200 years ago that accurately describes what we are experiencing... panem et circenses.

"Bread and Circuses"

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