“Give them bread and circuses!” The term was coined by Juvenal, a Roman playwright and poet, in the 1st century A.D. He was referring to the superficial appeasements that the rulers of Rome, the Emperor and the Senate, doled out to the unwashed masses, to take their minds off the brutal social and economic conditions that they were experiencing. So there were great spectacles in the forum, gladiatorial combats of epic proportions, and bread for everyone. Sometimes these concerts of that era, would be month-long, nonstop, and they achieved their purposes—that propaganda worked, at least for a while. And then along came the Christians, and more bread and circuses. No matter how dire your conditions are, there are still those who have it worse than you; that was the message. I imagine that everyone knew the outcome, the score, every Sunday: lions – 6, Christians – 0!
I suppose every government has their version of bread and circuses, and I mean universally. China v Taiwan, Russia v Ukraine, Guatemala v Belize, fascist Republicans v the rest of America! I remember in 1969, when the PDM, the new political party founded by Dean Russell Lindo, ran against the PUP in the general elections. Charlie Woods, the ex-priest, ran against Madame Liz, in the Pickstock division. His motto was, “A tin of milk is not enough; we will put pigtails in your beans, jam on your bread!” Bread and circuses! Needless to say, old Charlie’s loss was decisive! I also remember the Falklands or Malvinas war! The Argentine Junta was in trouble, so they decided to distract the people by starting a war with the British! That didn’t end well for them, but, bread and circuses!
It is getting harder to fool the people, in this time of advanced technology, the instant news and media availability, so we now have a new form of bread and circuses: disinformation! It blankets every corner of the world! Sometimes the more outrageous the claims and lies, the more believable they become, mainly to the less informed. We see it every day, especially in America, where the most famous con artist of all times, I mean that sincerely, has transformed the American landscape into an Alice in Wonderland world of fantasy! America was divided during the Civil War, but at least each side knew what they were fighting for—no doubts in their minds that they were on the right side of history. They understood what was at stake, right or wrong! Now the divisions are even more serious, more alarming, more vainglorious!
Presently, we are weaving our way through these prisms of fantasy and reality! We are banning books; teachers don’t have the right to teach the truth any more in some states; women’s rights depend on the whims of middle-aged white men in power who decide their fates. Voters’ rights are being whittled down to what they were during Reconstruction; doctors can’t treat people who are dying because they are afraid of being sued by the government of their state! Seriously? No bread and circuses here, just doom and gloom.
I think it is more imperative now, more than ever before, to make sure that we educate our kids, we parents. Teach them to read, encourage them to read everything, art, science, literature, any and everything in print. We need them to have an open mind to survive all that is coming at them. To be able to decipher fact from fiction, reality from fantasy! Give them the tools which will make it possible for them to disagree and argue for what they believe in, in a civil manner, not in the threatening, ominous way in which differences of opinions are now being handled. Teach them to think for themselves. No legacy could be more rewarding than that!
Maybe bread and circuses should be reevaluated, making more sense than the madness that is hurtling towards us at breakneck speed, unstoppable and inevitably! There are times when optimism seems so futile!
“The centre cannot hold!” — Yeats.
Glen