Common Sense 322 - Betting on Long Shots

[DrYouth]

I mean the republic is the thing the Romans had, that the Greeks didn't.

They conquered the Greeks, whether or not they thought of themselves as Greek, which they clearly didn't.

The Romans didn't consider themselves Greek.

They thought of the Greeks as decadent and weak, while they were strong, like how the Mongols must have seen the Chinese.

Although you are probably right, they were overlooking their actual shared cultural heritage.... that would have been inconvenient for the narrative.

[Smitty-48]

the Roman Imperator was not a Dictator

Dictator was an office of the Republic, the Imperators got rid of it

the Imperator was simply Princeps Civitatus, he wasn't officially in charge

the Romans never officially called themselves the "Roman Empire", that is a title added by historians later

the direct translation of Imperium Romanum, would be "Absolute Power of Rome"

they might put that on a map, to show the territory they controlled, but it wasn't the official name of the empire

the Romans just called it "Rome", and their official motto was SPQR, implying it was still a Republic

[Smitty-48]

the way America is now, where you can tell that Joe Biden is not really in charge

but who is actually in charge ? You can't really tell exactly who that is

that's how it was in the Roman Empire

Caesar Augustus was First Citizen, mostly because he was the richest man in Rome, kind of like Bezos

except Augustus was a trillionaire, net worth of $4 trillion in equivalent US dollars

[DrYouth]

the way America is now, where you can tell that Joe Biden is not really in charge

but who is actually in charge ? You can't really tell exactly who that is

that's how it was in the Roman Empire

Caesar Augustus was First Citizen, mostly because he was the richest man in Rome, kind of like Bezos

except Augustus was a trillionaire, net worth of $4 trillion in equivalent US dollars

So what is American Republic or not mean?

Are you saying that right now it is a Republic with a first citizen "imperator" and that it might become something else....

What else could it become?

A Parliamentary Democracy?

A Communist Dictatorship of the Info-Proletariat?

[DrYouth]

By the way - you realize that this means you are governed by a shadow emperor already....

Who is Darth Siddious anyways?

Or is it the deep state... some kind of organic burocratic mechanism no-one understands?

A bizarre cabal of functionaries and corporate lobbyists....

[Smitty-48]

the way America is now, where you can tell that Joe Biden is not really in charge

but who is actually in charge ? You can't really tell exactly who that is

that's how it was in the Roman Empire

Caesar Augustus was First Citizen, mostly because he was the richest man in Rome, kind of like Bezos

except Augustus was a trillionaire, net worth of $4 trillion in equivalent US dollars

So what is American Republic or not mean?

well that's the thing, it was a shadowy grey area transition with Rome

it's not like Augustus proclaimed the Republic to be overthrown

he actually claimed that they had restored the Republic

and he was not unpopular, he was wildly popular, particularly with the Plebs

he spent tons of money on public works, he built Rome into the city of marble most know now

the Rome of the Republic era was actually kind of a slum, the Republic was not actually popular with the Plebs

it was the other Patricians who feared & loathed the Imperator, the poor people actually loved him

[DrYouth]

well that's the thing, it was a shadowy grey area transition with Rome

it's not like Augustus proclaimed the Republic to be overthrown

he actually claimed that they had restored the Republic

and he was not unpopular, he was wildly popular, particularly with the Plebs

he spent tons of money on public works, he built Rome into the city of marble most know now

the Rome of the Republic era was actually kind of a slum, the Republic was not actually popular with the Plebs

Good historical metaphor, for sure....

(oh wait Smitty thinks I'm sucking up to him now)

>cough cough<

That's the stupidest idea I ever heard.... bla bla bla.... cat balls....

[Smitty-48]

to get a sense of how popular Augustus was, you would have to combine multiple megastars into one

like he was as popular as Eisenhower as Imperator

he was as popular as Pope John Paul II as Pontifex Maximus

he was as popular as Warren Buffet as a businessman

he was as popular as Ward Cleaver as a family patriarch

and he had the celebrity star power of Princess Diana

[Smitty-48]

in terms of how Augustus presented himself to the public

think of Vito Corleone, Marlon Brando from the Godfather

Augustus was not ostentatious

his public image was of a "humble family man" just trying to restore "traditional Roman values" in the wake of the civil war

[DrYouth]

So you are saying is that America is no longer a republic... its something else now (what would you call it?)

It needs a great man to lead.

An emperor with the star power of Princess Diana and the gravitas of Pope John Paul 2...

Well....

That's unlikely to just happen...
America doesn't make them like that any more... no-one does.

Trump was the closest thing to what you are talking about....
Minus the gravitas unfortunately.

And that kind of didn't work.

Who could do better?