A friend sent me this quote today -- it struck me as quite timely.
Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind ...And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done.
-- Julius Caesar
Timely indeed. Sort of a pity that Shakespeare would feel right at home with politics today, eh?
Posted by: Øystein H. Lund | November 07, 2004 at 05:36 PM