To Be, or Not To Be? By Joshua Evers
Not to sound redundant, as I know that absolutely everyone sees the extreme discrimination practiced by the patricians in attempt to limit the plebeians. But the patricians exercised irrational discrimination that I have only seen in a few cases. Here is the quote that reminded me of the illogical thinking of the patricians.
"It was evident that they would have to yield the victory either to their foreign foes
"It was evident that they would have to yield the victory either to their foreign foes
or to their own countrymen."
Throughout the entire reading I was sitting and muttering to myself that they were any other
group that thought they were superior. However, I did not connect the dots! The plebeians were
not going to enlist unless they were granted intermarriage, and consequently, the patricians and all of
Rome would be conquered by foreign attackers. Not only were the patricians stubborn enough in their
pride to try and keep themselves above the plebeians, but the plebeians were willing to risk becoming
captured by a foreign country in attempt to break the chain of nobility oppressing the public. The wealthy
patricians had literally nothing to lose but their selfish pride and they carried it proudly until the last
possible second. I always refer to The Nazi regime of WWII, and I don't intend to go on a witch hunt, but
the patricians possessed a passive and political form of the discrimination the Nazis came to carry. Yes, I
realize the plebeians were the same ethnicity as the patricians and likely lived somewhat
peacefully with them, but they practiced an outrageous discrimination that wasn't broken until their
freedom was threatened. To what extent are we as humans going to try and preserve our selfish desires?
Humanity has kept a constant pattern in our sinfulness and I'm not surprised at the actions of the
patricians and should even point out that God was graceful in not allowing it to have become far worse
of a situation. Thankfully, this insane yet simple issue was solved due to the one things patricians hated
more than plebeians: Foreigners!!
Humanity has kept a constant pattern in our sinfulness and I'm not surprised at the actions of the
patricians and should even point out that God was graceful in not allowing it to have become far worse
of a situation. Thankfully, this insane yet simple issue was solved due to the one things patricians hated
more than plebeians: Foreigners!!
P.S. I commented on the posts of Zelda and Will.
Isn't it interesting (albeit a little disturbing) how discrimination is always present in human societies? There is always a group with a superiority complex and there's always a weaker group to oppress with said superiority complex. This pattern is seen in large scale situations, like the Nazi regime and Livy's description of Rome, but we also see it in smaller ways like high school cliques and playground bullies. I'm glad to see that the plebs were able to break the cycle in this case.
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw the discrimination in this week’s reading. I appreciate the perspective you present regarding the patricians deliberating over choosing to lose to foreigners or their own fellow citizens. It shouldn’t be so bizarre to see two sides debating as we see this on a different level between political parties today, but it did catch me off guard at first. At the very least, it definitely showed me the extent of unity in the society.
ReplyDeleteI really like the comparison to WWII but I honestly thought more about slavery and Jim Crowe laws. However, I didn't recognize what you did about the Plebeians holding back from the Patritions just to get what they want. Overall, I agree with what you said.
ReplyDeleteI agree with was you said. I honestly didn't even think about WWII. It made me think more about Women Suffrage or Slavery laws.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. The quote about having to choose between foreign foes and their own countrymen stuck out to me as well. There should be no hesitation as to logical choice should be. It is more logical to have a victory over foreign foes and yield the victory to the countrymen. It sounds like what is best for the country.
ReplyDelete