Please Identify this Man
I can offer the following clues:
- He was born into an elite class
- He defied social norms
- He mocked the commercial and political values expected by his class
- He almost became a bankrupt in the pursuit of his ambition
- He defied the odds and created a vast fortune
- He decided on a political future
- He gained no respect or support from the conservative people of his own class
- He martialed the support of embittered and resentful common citizens
- He became the most powerful man in the world when he claimed the highest office in the most powerful state in the world
Scroll down for the answer:
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His name was Gaius Julius Caesar - Great Caesar
You just may have thought I was describing the current American president.
So, is there anything new under the sun? In most cases no. There have been Trumps before, just as there have been Reagans, Putins, Carters and Thatchers.
I say in most cases, because the following quote from JFK's Inaugural Address cannot be denied:
" The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life."
I suspect if he had lived another decade he might have added:
"We now also hold in our hands the power to export our culture and technology to distant worlds."
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Yes. Other things for the ‘not new but we still won’t terate it file’: Julius was hated, and his assassination welcomed by many. He’d sexually assaulted many of the wives, mothers and daughters of his own colleagues, Brutus included. No matter the rewrite of history that Shakespeare later offered for entertainment’s sake! So vain, he obsessively plucked at body hairs, and lovingly admired ever possible reflection of himself. Intolerable.
Let’s never cross that Rubicon again, shall we? ;)
Thanks for taking an interest, Ivy.
It's true that Caesar was hated by the Patrician and Equestrian orders. Although, he was popular with the masses who relied on the grain dole. He shared his war spoils with them and even elevated some to the Senate - along with new citizens in Gaul. Of course, this was to shore up his support.
In war, his cruelty knew no limits - even though one has to concede that he was a strategic genius.
He did treat women very badly, as was the custom of the day. He even offered his youthful daughter's hand in marriage to seal an alliance with the ageing Pompei. Not nice.
However, as I understand it, the mother of Brutus was involved in a long-term relationship with Caesar and was no pushover herself.
As for the Rubicon - in his farewell address, President Eisenhauer warned of the danger posed to the democratic system by the military-industrial complex. I thought was very strange coming from a Republican president and former General. What don't we know?
Cheers,
Henri
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Unfortunately controversy created by JFK abolished his life. It never ends!
I believe it was Oswald who abolished his life. However, I agree with the point you make.
If Kennedy's presidency did not carry the potential to be destroyed by scandal during its first term - after all, sharing a bed with the girlfriend of a Mafia Don and a Hollywood superstar is not so bright when you're president - I believe he would have defeated Goldwater in 1964. Strike that, I believe Goldwater would have defeated himself.
We'll never know Kennedy's true potential.
He went from error to error early in his presidency - but then many first-term presidents do. Yet, Kennedy's errors had the potential to be very costly.
What Kennedy had in common with Lincoln was that they were loved by many despite their perceived failures and weaknesses, and both used language in a manner we remember to this day. I think that was the key, that and self-deprecation.