Updated: Quote found at Okie Funk
I found this great quote posted in comments by Dustbowl at Okie Funk:
“Beware the leader who bangs the drum 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 of seizing
the rights of the citizenry.
Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by 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.
And I amCaesarThe Decider.”
Julius CaesarGeorge Walker Bush
Pete Regan Can Unite Progressives | Okie Funk: Notes From The Outback
UPDATE Sept 3: I recently ran across some suggestions that the above quote is not, in fact, properly attributed to Julius Caesar. It does, however, speak a truth, so I strike the attribution and alter the text to continue the truth. Hat tip to Big Ass Belle and her visitor V’ron for the suggestion.
August 29th, 2006 at 06:53
LiteraryTech - I’m confused. It IS a great quote, but was it Dustbowl or Julius Caesar who said it?
August 29th, 2006 at 10:03
Julius Caesar said it.
Dustbowl posted it.
Okie Funk hosted it.
September 8th, 2006 at 14:57
If I remember correctly, it was Caesar that said that, however it was the Caesar from the movie “Planet of the Apes”. Not the remake, but the original.
September 8th, 2006 at 15:11
Excuse me in the earlier post. It was not the “Planet of the Apes”, it is from the play by William Shakesphere, “Julius Caesar”. There was a reference to it in the ape pic, but it was recited by Cornelius, (Roddy McDowall), as some ancient writing or some such thing. Perhaps from the sacred scrolls.