Make America Rome Again
Is the Roman Empire behind the political divide between men and women?
The womanosphere was abuzz this week, asking social media “why do men think so much about the ‘Roman Empire’?” Intriguing as it is, the more pertinent question remains: why do men seldom discuss Rome with women?
Plainly, there’s a reason why men (especially in the US), are so taken with the ‘Roman Empire.’ They admire the legend of an empire founded and governed by farmer-warrior-philosophers, who ascended to the top of the world through a mix of intellectual rigour, military prowess, and masterful engineering. As well as a stroke of good luck now and then…
Thomas Jefferson was Cicero; George Washington was Sulla; Lincoln was Marcus Aurelius; Teddy Roosevelt was Scipio Africanus; and John Adams, Cato the Elder. Considering the unmatched pantheon of leadership, the parallels drawn between Rome and the USA are just too good to ignore, as ill-suited as they are. For better or worse, the world views the USA as the New Rome.
Yet, beyond the overlap between American and Roman virtues, parallels between their vices are becoming disconcertingly clear. Especially so when a senile Claudius sleepwalks in the White House, while a cabal of Neros is running the show from behind the curtains, literally setting the land on fire, as they sharpen their daggers to go after the former Caesar with the might of the State.
The looming threat of destruction, by means of debt, debauchery, and barbaric invasions, feels even more tangible than the destruction by fire, looting and persecution that beleaguered both empires in their prime. Even the growing division between the coastal elites and the flyover states, imperfectly mimic the East-West divide of the Roman Empire, under the false notion that history repeats itself.
Strength and Honour
Reasons to think about Rome are plenty, however most of them are mired in contradiction or confusion.
Rome, in its broadest definition, existed for 2,500 years — from the Roman Kingdom, to the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. Then the Western and Byzantine Empires and, finally, the Holy Roman Empire. One can even argue it exists to this day, in the form of the Roman Catholic Church. So, even saying that men think about the ‘Roman Empire’ can mean a great many of things.
The aesthetic appeal of Rome, aptly captured in films like Gladiator (although historically flimsy), showcased an unapologetically masculine society, summarised in the (made up) mantra of “strength and honour.” Yet, it’s not just about aesthetics. The Vikings, for example, are remembered by their aesthetics and little more, outside neopagan circles. Empires like Persia, Egypt, and the Mongols have a lesser grasp on Western imagination, either due to the lack of a historiography or too much of a cultural distance. The British Empire, on the other hand, had their resounding defeats too meticulously recorded to inspire much allure.
And Rome is just about its heroes (or anti-heroes) as its villains, from Attila to Hannibal, from Nero to Caligula; they had magnificent counterparties to the heroics of Julius Caesar or Charlemagne, to Belisarius and the legendary Greek fire — later referenced in Game of Thrones.
Even my 6-year-old’s favourite bedtime story is about Julius Caesar building the twin walls at Alesia, then marching into Rome, and later chasing Pompey all the way to Egypt…
So, Why Don’t We Discuss It More?
We should get the word out to women that another world is possible (caveating that that are plenty of women just as keen on Rome and what it represents).
Rome was not just cosmopolitan; it aspired to be eternal by upholding universal principles in the face of emerging problems. While Rome recognised the benefits of community and charity, it never compromised the rule of law or meritocracy: you reap what you sow, but you also give back.
They demonstrated that the politics of the sword and the battlefield can be replaced by the politics of the pen and diplomacy, without making our leaders soft and spineless.
That it took a great deal of sacrifice, effort and accomplishment to carve one’s name into history, not just being the first LGBT nominee at a Nickelodeon Awards.
So, my theory is that men today aren’t just thinking about the Roman Empire’s rise or fall. They are thinking on how to bring back such glory, how to reverse the prevailing cultural decline. After all, it has been done before: Augustus reinvented Rome into the New Troy, inspired by Aeneas rising from defeat, carrying both his father (past) and his son (future) from the ashes of his house. And Constantine, who reimagined Rome as the heir to Jerusalem, materialising the dreams of his mother.
Do All Roads Now Lead to White Supremacy?
But, be prepared for inevitable backlash and headlines like “Thinking About The Roman Empire Is White Supremacy” next week.
They will cast the Roman Empire as a Christian theocracy and ask what’s stopping today’s ‘extremists’ from rallying to reclaim Constantinople or liberate the Holy Land.
And before you know it, everything will be lumped under the ominous tag of ‘Christian Nationalism,’ labelled as ‘inherently racist,’ even though the concept of racism blossomed only during the Enlightenment. Ironically, it was embraced by those who demonised Rome’s Christianisation and longed for the purity of European paganism.
The actual problem these critics have is that a ‘Roman Renaissance’ threatens the exceedingly feminised world we live in, and the establishment is keen to cling to power by definition. When I use ‘feminised’ in this context, consider that Beto O’Rourke and Justin Trudeau embody far more ‘politically feminine’ attributes than, let’s say, Nikki Haley or Giorgia Meloni.
It’s clear that when men demonstrate awareness of history, it unsettles the current order. To go a bit further back in history, in a time when we’re bombarded by messages akin to Philip II of Macedon’s threats of what would happen if he invaded Sparta, it’s high time we responded like the Spartans did: simply “If…”
Don’t forget check out my serial fiction project:
dydx - Chapter I: Anodyne
“Sound of teeth brushing the asphalt before bones scatter against it in cruel harmony. A jagged fracture tears a line through Liberty’s lower jaw. A subtle rush of copper-tang blood creeps up her auricular channel. The back of her skull burns. Her body is cold and convulsing, pathetically, like a fish.
Gotta love Spartan pluck. When Xerses demanded the 300 Spartans, (& their helots and allies) to surrender their weapons Leonidas is quoted to have replied: “Molon Labe” or come and take them.
When Rome moved to England, they established and named their first city Little Rome, which they later renamed York. New York City was named after the Roman city in England. So Rome pretty much relocated here to the US. New York City was the capital of the New Roman Empire, with tentacles reaching world wide.