Greetings. If you know Latin, you know the meaning of these words. And if you are an astute student of political philosophy you will recognize this maxim and understand its relevance to today. These words translated into English mean “Bread and Circuses.” It comes from Roman poet Juvenal, who wrote in the late First and Second Century AD. The full quote is:
“For that sovereign people that once gave away military command, consulships, legions, and everything that now bridles its desires and limits its anxious longings to two things only — bread and the games of the circus!”
Juvenal addressed the phenomenon that the Roman people no longer cared about political involvement and were satisfied with the cheap food and entertainment given to them by politicians. The great Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero once commented on the “arrogance of officialdom.” Bread and Circuses (which were the state-sponsored games of the Coliseum) simply provided sustenance and entertainment to seek the end goal of appeasing public discontent.
As the wise Jewish King Solomon would say in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
So how is Panem et Circenses relevant to us today in America...if you can't discern that, well, you obviously missed the Democratic National Committee convention.
Jay Stone is the president of Honest, Open, and Transparent Government, and he just penned a piece for The Federalist titled “Democrats May Win the 2024 Election by Buying Swing State Voters.” In his piece, he talks about a Democrat organization called When We All Vote (WWAV) and how this organization started conducting early voting festivals in 2016. WWAV is an offshoot initiative of Civic Nation founded by the self-anointed queen of the Democrats, Michelle Obama. Ya know, I have a feeling that hope is making a comeback. She and (13) other Obama White House members are behind this Civic Nation group, and it has quietly become a very powerful political machine.
So, what is the goal of WWAV in this 2024 election cycle? They are planning to sponsor 516 so-called Party at the Polls (PATP) events in seven swing states...as close as possible to early voting sites and polling places. Here is the deal and its relation to Juvenal's Panem et Circenses. As Jay Stone states, “WWAV requires each PATP host to provide food, beverages, and entertainment to all PATP attendees. In 2022, WWAV granted community groups $2500 per party and volunteer hosts $250 per party.”
Here is the breakdown, according to WWAVs own data, of their intended goals by swing State:
Arizona, 132 PATPs
Georgia, 76 PATPs
Michigan, 114 PATPs
Nevada, 57 PATPs
North Carolina, 87 PATPs
Pennsylvania, 24 PATPs
Wisconsin, 26 PATPs
Total: 516 PATPs in States that could yield 93 Electoral Votes combined. Remember, 270 are needed to win.
Now, we already know about the “Zuckerbucks” that somehow ended up directly in the hands of specific county elections offices back in 2020, one of which was Harris County (Houston) here in Texas and later in Laredo (Webb County) Texas. And it appears that Marxist Mark is up to his tricks again with a $20K grant to a Minnesota County in this 2024 cycle.
I have shared with y'all before the sage advice of retired US Marine Corps 1st Sgt Jim Reifinger, “If you ever find yourself in a fair fight, it's all because your tactics suck.” The progressive socialist left is not looking for a fair fight. They are seeking out any and all means by which they can achieve their ends — winning and retaining power. This means that they are more than willing to expend the necessary funds in targeted counties, down to polling locations and early voting sites, to provide cheap food and entertainment for the purpose of electoral support and numbing the minds of people as to their true despair.
As Juvenal wrote about many centuries ago, it is the same trick and is actually quite disingenuous and disrespectful of the American people. Then again, why change something that seems to work? How many times have we heard the mindless lemmings say that Kamala Harris, someone who once had lower approval ratings than Joe Biden, now gives joy?
Jay Stone's article clearly evidences that the tactic of Panem et Circenses is still relevant and sadly useful. Our Founding Fathers realized that to keep and maintain this Constitutional Republic, not a democracy, it would be incumbent on having an informed electorate. Apparently, cheap food and entertainment, combined with the ideological indoctrination and the Orwellian-like propaganda state supported by a complicit and diabolical leftist media, preclude that from happening.
Just remember, groceries used to be inexpensive before the leftists came into power. Now, they seek to fill our bellies with their cheap sustenance and distract us with their noise...
Hopey changey.
Steadfast and Loyal.