This may be a short post, but I hope you will understand the magnitude and scope of what it means for America (and the Western world in general). You may not have heard, or even care, but the media is going after the New England Patriots football team over alleged rules violations concerning the air pressure in the balls they used in last week’s game. There have been calls for their coach to be fired and even jailed. In one interview, a reporter openly questioned the coach’s character to his face. All of this concern is over something as trivial as an accusation that a team broke a rule in a football game. Yet, these same media people who want to throw someone in jail for breaking a rule — not a law, a rule — these same people don’t give a second thought to the President of the United States not only breaking the law, but publicly boasting about it. Now, ask yourself, what sort of society can continue when it does not care about its leaders breaking the supreme law of the land, but makes a national crisis out of an allegation over a rule in a game? Or more importantly, what does it say about us, as individuals?
I beg you to not just think about this, but act on it. Look inward. Ask yourself where you stand on this issue. If you think not caring is better than taking a side, you are wrong — it is worse. But, either way, decide what side you take and why, and what that means for you. Then use that information to make changes in how you live your life because, if we cannot use reason to decide what is and is not important, and to choose how we will live, then we really are little more than animals. Now I ask you, when animals are allowed to run the nation, how are the people to survive? How does civilization survive when our leaders ignore the law and just do whatever they want? And how do animals get into a position of leadership unless there are animals supporting them? So — again — I ask you: what does all this say about us — individually, and as a society?
The Oil for Your Lamp 
Joe,
Pass out the bread and send in the lions. What a beautiful day to go to the Colosseum.
That about says it all.
chhelo,
I agree. I only wish people understood what you just said. Oh, I know many people are familiar with the sayings, and can even place the origins, but they don’t really understand what it means because — when they came to that part of their ‘ancient’ history class — they snoozed through it because “that stuff won’t ever matter to me.”
😦
I understood chello loud and clear. Panem et circenses is overflowing in the land of milk and honey. To wit; I find it telling that our society causes a ruckus over the lack of diversity wrt the Academy Awards, yet fails to mention two war heroes being snubbed and degraded. (American Sniper and Unbroken deserved far more than what they were offered.) As far as sports, I don’t watch. I reckon with the score that I read about, the right team won……dunno, but it seems logical. Maybe the Colts need Tebow?
Kells,
Looks like we are all in agreement on this one.
“Bread and circuses” (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is metonymic for a superficial means of appeasement. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the generation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion; distraction; or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace,[1] as an offered “palliative.” Its originator, Juvenal, used the phrase to decry the selfishness of common people and their neglect of wider concerns.[2][3][4] The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the commoner.
chhelo, Kells,
Not fair. You guys are not the ‘average’ American. 🙂