The Ides of March are nearly upon us! And as someone who appreciates literature, it pains me that many people completely ignore the anniversary of Julius Caesar’s assassination, instead looking ahead to the corned beef and beer awaiting them on St. Patrick’s Day. (No wonder Caesar’s wife Calpurnia was having tormented dreams…her subconscious was sick about the nightmarishly nasty food that people eat on St. Patty’s Day). But anyway, as I re-read Shakespeare’s drama about the conspiracy that led to Caesar’s murder, I couldn’t help but reflect on the state of our modern society, which, in many ways, is a tragedy itself. However, I think that we would do well to introspectively assess whether you and I, on a personal level, are contributing to more widespread problems.

-Are you willing to stab a friend in the back because of your own insecurities?

-Do you actually make rational decisions, or are you simply swept along by the emotional rhetoric of colleagues, influencers, and “experts?”

-When faced with a “conspiracy” that threatens your paradigm or worldview, do you embrace it as an opportunity to formulate a respectful rebuttal? Or do you just fire back with ad hominem attacks that further polarize people you could otherwise help?

-Have you irreparably seared your conscience so that your destructive actions are justified as “for the Greater Good?”

-Are you forcing yourself to eat cabbage in the middle of March “just because everyone else is doing it”? (Go ahead and eat cabbage if you like it, but stop lying…no one likes cabbage).

It’s far easier to be tragic than become a hero. Do the best you can with what you’ve been given, wherever you are. And The Republic will probably end up being ok

1 Corinthians 10:31