When The Bread and Circuses Are Gone In America

It is exactly what the Roman poet Juvenal was referring to when he said…

“The people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now concerns itself no more, and longs eagerly for just two things – bread and circuses”  – Juvenal

The people of America love their bread and circuses.  What is meant by “bread and circuses”?

“Bread and Circuses” (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. It was the basic Roman formula for the well-being of the population, and hence a political strategy unto itself… the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion, distraction, and/or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace.The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man (l’homme moyen sensuel).

In modern usage, the phrase has also become an adjective to describe a populace that no longer values civic virtues and the public life. Or as famous American author Robert Heinlein said,

“Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves bananas, they’ll never climb another tree.”

How does this translate into the world of Americans?  All sorts of ways.

• Government handouts and entitlement programs
• Policies that favor and appease specific favored groups...........

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