Cicero was ahead of our times

My departure from the our series on burials and cemeteries is not coincidental and we’ll return to it later with a real blockbuster that I had promised. But, since there is not much we can do to enhance the lives of those who have passed on but perpetuate their memories and honor their lives and grave sites, I thought today and later on, we should not bury our heads in the sand but rather concentrate and discuss the things that are important going forward. To do this I decided to bring back my ole political friend and philosopher “Sen. Marcus Tellius Cicero.” I have read books about him, a fascinating read, It is said that, except for Jesus Christ, he was the most influential person of his time. I think as Jesus Christ continues to be influential in modern times, even all times, Cicero has been influential, especially in the realm of politics. So much of the fairness and goodness espoused by Cicero were similar to the man-to- man relationships that Jesus proclaimed. The political career of Marcus Tullius Cicero began in 76 BC with his election to the office of quaestor (overseer of the treasury) and he became a Senator two years later. His career ended in 43 BC, when he was assassinated upon the orders of Mark Antony. The historian Appian, writing in the second century AD, declared the Roman Republic died when the great rhetorician Marcus Tullius Cicero was struck down by the forces of his enemies: “As he leaned out of the litter and offered his neck unmoved, his head was cut off. Nor did this satisfy the senseless cruelty of the soldiers. They cut off his hands, also, for the offense of having written something against Antony. Thus, the head was brought to Antony and placed by his order between the two hands on the rostra, where, often as consul, often as a consular, and, that very year against Antony, he had been heard with admiration of his eloquence, the like of which no other human voice ever uttered.” You can ask me what this has to do with today? OK, you asked. The reason why Cicero was decapitated was because he stood up for the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic, styled after the nearly perfect Greek Republic, from which much is reflected in the Constitution and By-Laws of the United States of America. You see, Cicero’s demise came from challenges to Mark Antony who a was an ugly foot servant and General under the reign of Julius Caesar, who at the time was fighting to move Rome from a Republic to an Empire. Because of Cicero’s oracle eloquence he had to be removed. Of course, it’s a bit of a stretch to apply this episode to today’s politics, but the rhetoric is somewhat similar. And it’s not only the rhetoric of today, but consider what it may be like tomorrow or later. Each election period seems to be permeated with more and more fire and hyperbole. Yet, our lives are governed by a Republican Government and a Constitution that says “For the People and By the People.” I would think that would mean that each person would have not only a God given right, but a Constitutional Right to speak out about their personal beliefs and convictions. But as you can see in this abbreviated discussion of Cicero, that when power and authority is to be taken away from the people, drastic measures will soon be taken. So, beware of the person who takes away rights on one hand while with the other is promising to uphold your rights as a free person. But, this is not a discussion of politics one way or the other. After all, if this is a free country, we each should be free to have our own convictions and priorities, not restrained by anything but the Constitution and By-Laws that we have agreed to be governed by. I guess in the long stretch, it could mean that if enough people form to radically revise or eliminate our current form of government, that could be done. And if it were to be considered, the result would be very similar to the days of Cicero during the time that Rome was great and a beacon to the rest of the known world and soon became a joke. Over the last few years, things have begun to radically change. I have, and many of you have, been around long enough to see and measure the changes. Some changes have been good for the country, some have not, but in the context of both, you and I must accept that our country has moved closer and closer to a country governed less and less by the populous and more and more by the influential and the very rich. My hope, (and prayer) is that, as this election year approaches, you and I will take the time and expend the energy to Pray for the United States of America. That we each study and ask divine guidance for understanding, and ask for energy in our feet to move us toward what is good and right to again or continue to be, a blessing to the world. “Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in path and gave him triumphal processions and laughed delightfully at his licentiousness and thought it very superior of him to acquire vast amounts of gold illicitly. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the ‘new, wonderful good society which will now be Rome’s’ interpreted to mean ‘More money, more ease, more security, more living fattly at the expense of the industrious.’” Marcus Tullius Cicero 106 – 43 BC

“And That's My Opinion”