We’ve been home for more than a week and I know I should be obsessed with the political climate here by now, but something about visiting ancient cities in Europe makes nonstop news about a fetid reflecting pool in D.C. and multimillion-dollar political campaigns in Colorado seem trivial.
Standing in the Colosseum in Rome forces a person to take the long view, even if it’s 90 degrees outside and your brain is screaming at you to stop reading all those blasted placards about the history of the place and empty your water bottle over your head before you pass out.
Ah, but I couldn’t stop. I found learning the real meaning of vomitoria (falling down the stairs), the stories of enslavement and persecution of Jews and Christians, and especially the history of the fatuous Emperor Nero endlessly fascinating.
I know this will come as a surprise to 21st century political junkies, but this self-absorbed 1st century dude set a high standard for cruelty, self-aggrandizement and narcissism thousands of years before Donald Trump took up that mantle with such shameless enthusiasm.
When fire wiped out much of Rome, Nero seized the moment to use public funds to build himself the Golden House, the Mar-a-Lago of his day, on a sprawling site that was envisioned to eventually consume one-third of the city. He considered himself the ultimate arbiter of culture, playing his lyre (not the fiddle!), writing poetry and ordering that the city be rebuilt in the Greek style he personally favored.
And, obsessed with his legacy, he commissioned a 98-foot-tall bronze statue of himself.
When the increasingly outraged and impoverished populace took to blaming Nero for the fire, he responded by claiming without evidence that it was caused by the wicked Christians and launched a campaign to dehumanize, persecute and execute them en masse.
With military exploits across the region starting to go south and the economy in decline, Nero’s popularity plummeted.
He supposedly killed himself before the many aspiring assassins could get the job done. It may be viewed as his only selflessly patriotic act.
What followed was a frenetic campaign to erase his legacy.
Construction of the Golden House was halted and 18 elephants were conscripted to haul the giant Nero statue to a new site where it was redesigned to represent the sun god, Sol.
But Nero was hardly the only tyrannical narcissist to reign in Rome. Others followed at periodic intervals, building the Colosseum, erecting huge arches and draining public coffers for their own benefit.
Modern Italian history brought Mussolini, who rose to power with the support of Italians wearing distinctive black shirts (not red hats) to his rallies.
Known as an enthusiastic public speaker, he frequently contradicted himself in long speeches and was known to have little respect for the facts. His cult of personality alone propelled him into a dictatorship that lasted until his death in 1945.
In case the similarities still aren’t screamingly obvious, it’s interesting to note that Mussolini brought in wrecking crews to destroy irreplaceable historic structures to make way for the tacky buildings he preferred.
Apparently it’s a template for fascists everywhere.
But the party he founded won only 2% of the vote in 1948. By that time, Italian voters were disgusted with fascism and Mussolini, who had trashed the economy and dragged them into a war they had lost. They demanded democratic reforms, economic reforms, justice and freedom of expression.
Which brings us to this potentially history-making election year at a time when the country is losing a war with Iran and leaders are cynically slashing support for working people while eagerly transferring wealth to plutocrats in the top 1%.
The action for Coloradans begins with Tuesday’s primary.
Sure, the narcissist-in-chief is not on the ballot here or anywhere, but a crucial message still can be delivered.
The balance of power in Congress is at stake. Who will lead the state through the looming economic and climate crises ahead is TBD. This election is a chance to start taking back the power.
So, what’s the best way to do that? Throw out the old guard? Reward those who have taken stands against tyranny? Demand the kind of ruthless accountability voters alone can impose?
Whatever inspires you to cast a ballot, make it so. And don’t be shy about using the opportunity to make a statement. Remember, with the masses in open revolt, even Nero had to accept the fact that his reign was over.
Future generations, touring the squalid pools and crumbling monuments of this era, will read the placards and take notice.
Against all evidence to the contrary, they need to know we really weren’t all hapless idiots after all.
Diane Carman is a Denver communications consultant.
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