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Modern-Day Bread & Circus

What’s the quickest way to divide and conquer a nation without external invasion or internal opposition?  

The answer might surprise you.

To understand one of the oldest tactics used by dictators and age-old empires to control their people, let’s turn back to the first century AD and see what we can learn from the fall of ancient Rome. 

Whenever there was political unrest in the Roman Empire they would give their citizens “bread and circus” to distract and placate them so they were too distracted with their own hedonism to worry about the loss of their freedoms.

Examples of “bread and circus” would include sporting events, theater, and mass accumulation of wealth. 

Although many of these things are not inherently evil, their excessive use drew people out of balance and into a subtle and false state of security which ultimately led to their destruction. 

Parallels between Ancient Rome & Modern America

Today, we are bombarded with this “bread and circus” in all aspects of our life. Entertainment and other vices pacify our carnal nature to the point where we are numb to reality and ignore the perils we face. 

Hollywood, technology, food consumption, and other modern conveniences have caused us to reach a certain level of complacency in society where we’d rather return to our “old way of living”, while giving up some of our individual and collective liberties, than get uncomfortable and take ownership for the reality of our awful situation. 

The good news is that we don’t have to take the same path ancient Rome and other failed societies took that led to their demise. 

We can choose to learn from history’s mistakes and come together to unify and elevate each other to a higher and holier way of life. 

Although we’ve been given incredible and abundant resources to help us achieve this important task of bringing the world together, ultimately we have to make the individual decision that we will stand up and use our voice for good. 

ClearUnited is dedicated to giving people a platform that allows them to use their voice for good and make a difference in their communities. 

Learn more at https://www.clearsummit.online/