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Bonus Material – On the Fall of the Roman Republic: Lessons for the American People

Bonus Material – On the Fall of the Roman Republic: Lessons for the American People

Anthem Press has just released the paperback edition of my book On the Fall of the Roman Republic: Lessons for the American People. So I thought I’d share some bonus material that touches upon a number of the themes addressed in it and reflects the format of the approach I took in the other chapters. Here is the additional lesson. Mistreatment of women is the mark of a tyrant The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BCE.  The event that…

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Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part III – Organized, armed gangs will tear apart a political system

Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part III – Organized, armed gangs will tear apart a political system

As Americans head to the polls, the threat of voter intimidation and violence is greater than at any time in recent memory.  Not since the Jim Crow South have voters and the political system faced such threats.  The potential damage this could do to our political system should not be underestimated.  Here again, the Romans provide us an ominous example. By the 50s BCE, the Roman Republic had been marred by political violence for decades, but something had inherently changed. …

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Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part II – Civic virtue is as important as the constitution and laws

Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part II – Civic virtue is as important as the constitution and laws

Civic virtue does not seem to be of much interest in 21st century America.  Perhaps for good reason.  It is hard to be civically virtuous when any attempt to be so is taken advantage of.  It’s a lamentable loss.  For in the end, civic virtue has the power to keep people together longer than institutions and documents.  We tend to rely on institutions and documents to do our heavy lifting; we treat these things as if they can police our…

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Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part I – Political violence is a prologue to civil war

Lessons on Political Violence from the Roman Republic: Part I – Political violence is a prologue to civil war

The presidency of Donald Trump has renewed and heightened political violence in the United States.  American society has always been violent, particularly to people of color, women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community.  So we want to be careful to suggest that the violence we are seeing is somehow new or unprecedented.  Yet we also want to be careful to suggest that this is merely the same as always and there is nothing to be alarmed at.  As I’ve written in…

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The Tyrant Goes for an Evening Stroll

The Tyrant Goes for an Evening Stroll

Who does not love an evening walk in the late spring and early summer?  The birds in the trees, a cool breeze against one’s face.  If you are fortunate to be with a loved one, you may be talking over your day or even your dreams, perhaps enjoying the silence together.  Or maybe you are a solitary walker lost in the reveries of the night.   Many of us in this time of pandemic have rediscovered the invigorating joys of an…

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