Sunday, October 26, 2008
Et tu, Brute?
Last evening I was at the final performance of the fall season of the Shakespearean festival in Cedar City (Utah.) It was a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, set in the 1960s. I read Brutus in the eighth grade, so I was anxious to see the play produced, which I never had before.
In the play, as in history, a group of conspirators beguiles Brutus, who is a friend of Caesar, into helping them assassinate Caesar lest he be made king. Brutus did it for Rome, his country, and in the end Shakespeare has Marc Antony refer to Brutus as "The noblest Roman of them all" because his motives were pure. The result of the assassination was, in real history, a bloody civil war and the end of the Roman republic. Brutus's involvement ended up completely reversing what he had set out to do.
Caesar, for his part, had been undoing some of the damage done when rich landowners took over the fields owned by soldiers out fighting for their country. He had been giving the land back to the soldiers. The rich landowners, as you might expect, didn't much like that, and they comprised the core of the conspiracy that murdered Caesar.
In the play there are funerary speeches by Brutus and Marc Antony. Antony's is the more famous, as it is the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech that almost everyone in the English speaking world has heard at least once or twice. The core of Brutus's speech, which Shakespeare wrote in prose instead of his usual poetry, follows (for the whole speech, click on the title of this post.)
Who is here so base that would be a
bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended.
Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If
any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so
vile that will not love his country? If any, speak;
for him have I offended.
Substitute "American" for "Roman" as you read that excerpt and see if it looks familiar. It sounds similar to the recent words of an idiot congresswoman from Minnesota, as echoed by an idiot governor from Alaska. (I would never badmouth another state's officials, but she put herself forth as more than that, so she's fair game.) In the case of "the noble Brutus," those words helped end the republic. In this case, they're just idiocy masquerading as political speech, but they still piss me off something terrible.
Someone is less patriotic because they don't follow our American leaders without complaint? Really? And why, again, did we overthrow His Majesty King George III? It's unpatriotic to live in a blue state? When did that start? Blue states contribute the bulk of the federal budget, including the handouts that go to Alaska, amongst others. It's unpatriotic to give you guys money? Okay, then, let us have it so we can do evil things with it like fund day care and health insurance. Better yet, how about all the red states secede and we let you this time? You have no money, no significant industry, and you depend on handouts from those of us who would be free to ignore you forever more. Sounds like a plan to me.
Or wait, wouldn't secession be unpatriotic? If you're not sure, ask Alaska's "first dude." I'm sure he has some words of wisdom on the subject.
In the play, as in history, a group of conspirators beguiles Brutus, who is a friend of Caesar, into helping them assassinate Caesar lest he be made king. Brutus did it for Rome, his country, and in the end Shakespeare has Marc Antony refer to Brutus as "The noblest Roman of them all" because his motives were pure. The result of the assassination was, in real history, a bloody civil war and the end of the Roman republic. Brutus's involvement ended up completely reversing what he had set out to do.
Caesar, for his part, had been undoing some of the damage done when rich landowners took over the fields owned by soldiers out fighting for their country. He had been giving the land back to the soldiers. The rich landowners, as you might expect, didn't much like that, and they comprised the core of the conspiracy that murdered Caesar.
In the play there are funerary speeches by Brutus and Marc Antony. Antony's is the more famous, as it is the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech that almost everyone in the English speaking world has heard at least once or twice. The core of Brutus's speech, which Shakespeare wrote in prose instead of his usual poetry, follows (for the whole speech, click on the title of this post.)
Who is here so base that would be a
bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended.
Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If
any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so
vile that will not love his country? If any, speak;
for him have I offended.
Substitute "American" for "Roman" as you read that excerpt and see if it looks familiar. It sounds similar to the recent words of an idiot congresswoman from Minnesota, as echoed by an idiot governor from Alaska. (I would never badmouth another state's officials, but she put herself forth as more than that, so she's fair game.) In the case of "the noble Brutus," those words helped end the republic. In this case, they're just idiocy masquerading as political speech, but they still piss me off something terrible.
Someone is less patriotic because they don't follow our American leaders without complaint? Really? And why, again, did we overthrow His Majesty King George III? It's unpatriotic to live in a blue state? When did that start? Blue states contribute the bulk of the federal budget, including the handouts that go to Alaska, amongst others. It's unpatriotic to give you guys money? Okay, then, let us have it so we can do evil things with it like fund day care and health insurance. Better yet, how about all the red states secede and we let you this time? You have no money, no significant industry, and you depend on handouts from those of us who would be free to ignore you forever more. Sounds like a plan to me.
Or wait, wouldn't secession be unpatriotic? If you're not sure, ask Alaska's "first dude." I'm sure he has some words of wisdom on the subject.
Labels: Politics
