Bread and circuses versus the Beatitudes.
Those famous historically competing credos could be the headlines on marquees promoting the epic contemporary mounting battle to win the hearts and souls of Americans.
It is history playing out before our eyes in Washington, D.C., and across the United States during celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
During the semiquincentennial milestone observances, we are witnessing two vastly different approaches to honoring the foundational visionary values of our country.
On one side are impresarios. Many are rich, privileged and powerful and several hold high office in government. In contemporary parlance they offer dough, (i.e., government funded gifts and benefits that often are described as payoffs), cage fights and other extravagant mindless entertainments and political rallies as well as frequent self-indulgent, self-interested expropriations of public property and occasions.
On the other side are citizens who count the blessings of the ideals and ethics of one nation established by law that aspires to deliver liberty and equal justice for all. They are modern-day American revolutionaries who still honor and promote the true spirit of 1776 that fueled the shift from monarchy to a democracy of, by and for the people.
They espouse once-radical universal principles shared across different belief systems that have been taught consistently since ancient times by prophets and spiritual leaders of many faiths.
These ideas may be found in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3-12), a sermon by a great teacher who spoke to his followers long ago from a mountain top. These specific lessons were well known and embraced by the brave and learned patriots in colonial America. They understood that the path to meaningful happiness involves unwavering pursuit of virtuous, ethical, moral improvement, performance of civic duties and servant leadership in the best interest of others, not rapaciously seeking world power, wealth and worship of false idols.
The founders of America understood that virtuous ideals such as humility, civility, compassion, honesty, knowledge, truth and sacrifice outshine wildfires of vanities and vices. These values and ideals are as relevant today as ever.
In contrast to the sermon on the mount is the derisive term “bread and circuses.”
Although it seems all too familiar, historically it has been a hallmark of the abuse of government power and not about any particular pied piper in the past or today leading people astray. It was not invented here or now. It’s a political gimmick as old as sin.
The famous biting metaphor was coined by Roman poet Juvenal in his Satires (c. 100 CE), in the same era that the message of the Beatitudes concurrently began to spread globally.
The phrase also is found in the influential work of the Greek biographer and philosopher Plutarch. Awareness of how people can be pacified and distracted from their loss of political power also often appears in both the Old Testament and the sequel, in cautionary literature and theatrical productions throughout the ages and in modern novels such as Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and more recently the Hunger Games books and films.
Juvenal believed that providing free food to Roman citizens was “a briberous [sic] and corrupting attempt of the Roman emperors to cover up the fact that they were selfish and incompetent tyrants”.
He bemoaned and warned: “Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”
The Beatitudes in modern words directly reject arrogance, selfishness, tyranny, inequity, discrimination and decadence. They bless those who exhibit humility, mourning, are meek and protect the meek, are righteous, merciful and uncorrupted, fundamentally decent people.
God’s grace also is bestowed on peacemakers, who abhor violence, restore harmony, reconcile opposing parties and end conflicts.
The final blessing is for those who have the courage to do what is right and necessary although it may be unpopular, risky and against self-interest.
It is a call to action heeded by George Mason, who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This trailblazing document was adopted by the Virginia constitutional convention June 12, 1776, widely copied by other colonies and eventually in 1789 was the basis for the Bill of Rights.
Thomas Jefferson drew upon Mason’s work heavily in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. That great but imperfect document left a lot of work to be done “in order to form a more perfect union” as acknowledged in the famous preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
That includes the ongoing unfinished need to fully recognize and protect the rights of women, people of color and indigenous Americans.
A majority of the courageous founding leaders of the revolution were lawyers. They understood the shortcomings that stained the flawed founding documents and that they risked their reputations and property as well as the safety and lives of themselves and families by endorsing the rebellion. Many paid the price.
It also has been said, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” Every generation experiences tough times and is tested by disagreements, failures, disappointments and frightening existential threats.
Throughout American history the efforts and sacrifice of many different good people have eventually overcome daunting problems of unimaginable proportion. In America, good lawyers have always been in the vanguard of progress, prosperity and peace.
As they were in the beginning, we are now, and hopefully ever will be.
Recently the numbers of 21st century freedom fighters have swollen. Their growing ranks include the distinguished members of “Keep Our Republic” (https://keepourrepublic.org/) who in January issued an open letter calling on lawyers, law firms and legal organizations to stand up for the rule of law by endorsing “Principles for the Independence of the Legal Profession,” authored by more than 30 former federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties.
It reads, in part, “After recent attacks on lawyers, judges, and law firms alike, the Principles offer all in the legal profession the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to rules of professional ethics, their duty to provide pro bono representation to those unable to pay, and their unwillingness to accept representation under conditions that threaten their independence.”
The release of the principles marked the launch of a national effort to ensure that the legal profession remains a central pillar of a flourishing Republic governed by the rule of law.
Recently, almost 100 current and former deans of law schools wrote to support the Judicial Principles for Independence (https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024/06/law-school-deans-letter/ ): “We join you and the deeply bipartisan collection of former federal judges who originally drafted and promulgated the Principles, and the larger, equally bipartisan group of former judges who have signed on since. We also acknowledge the many law professors, lawyers, corporate general counsels, as well as state and local bar organizations that have endorsed the Principles.”
The memberships of new and existing nonpartisan civic education organizations, as well as nonpartisan reform advocacy groups, are impressively increasing because of interest, concern and a thirst for robust, informed, civil discourse. They include the Rule of Law Global Academic Partnership; Refounding America (https://refoundingamerica.org/); and the Common Sense Coalition (https://commonsensecoalition.net/), which has published a bestselling book “Betrayed: America Did Not Vote for This.”
Personal favorites, because their Jacksonville chapters are so informative and well run, are the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton (https://jmp.princeton.edu/) conceived of and founded by one of the most respected conservative voices in America, Princeton Professor Robert George, which is strictly nonpolitical; and the assiduously apolitical World Affairs Council (https://worldaffairscounciljax.org/), led in Northeast Florida by Amy Margerum Berg and Trina Medarev.
In truth there is no shortage of organizations for anyone to learn, think about and discuss the policy issues of our day and what might be done.
Judging by the past, in the present, for the future, if we remember what was, is and can be, we may have faith that people have the ability to restore, revitalize and enhance what is beautiful about our democracy.