What Do You See?

By Bill Brit/Editor

Sometimes it takes keen perception to distinguish between the statesman and the demagogue.

Demagogy comes from the ancient Greek words for “people” and “to lead.”

Demagogy can be defined as a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist or populist themes. Aristophanes used the term for the first time in his satire against the demagogue Cleon.

The early 20th Century American social critic and humorist H. L. Mencken defined a demagogue as “one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.”

The Founding Fathers were aware of such men and even in themselves questioned their own motivation at many turns. In the writing of our nations founders there is an overwhelming desire to do good as a public servant and a caution against vainglory and the temptations of becoming a usurper and dictator. So, it was that they promoted a sense of gentlemanly honor and Christian humility.

Dr. Samuel Johnson, in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755), defined honor as having several senses, the first of which was “nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness.”

Honor is also to be found in a person character; whether or not a person reflects honesty, respect, integrity and fairness.

In their day, honor figured largely as a guiding principle. A man’s honor, that of his wife, and his family, formed the foundation of his statue and standing in the larger community.

Therefore a gentleman also known, as a “man of honor” remained ever alert for any action or insult, actual or suspected that might impugn his honor.

Likewise, humility was considered the other great virtue of leadership.

Humility has been defined as, “A quality by which a person considering his own defects; has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God’s sake.”

The founders of our country knew that among those who sought honor in public services that there were more than a few that sought only power.

Alexander Hamilton often warned that a republic like America needed to guard against, “Caesars and Catilines. “

Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century B.C. who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, which was an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic.

Catiline presented himself as a populist leader railing against the authority of the elite of Rome. In this, Catiline is the archetypal, disingenuous, “man of the people,” who when in power rule not for the people but for his own interests.

Whether within the White House, statehouse or city council, there are those whose only purpose in offices is power.

But there are also those who wish only to serve the public.

Monday night, I watched the Pell City Council meeting via the Internet. It was truly amazing to sit in my home and see city government at work.

This has the promise of transforming the way business is done, if the citizens will log-in and watch.

The audio feed was very good but the video was a little off, also it was impossible to see the faces of the council members. You would think that for the $80 thousand dollars the city paid for the cameras and other equipment that we could at least have a clear picture of the council’s lovely faces. Yes, I know 80-grand doesn’t buy what it use too, but honestly, is there a money pit at city hall that we don’t know about?

As I watched the council meeting I was reminded of how far our republic has come in a few hundred years, and yet there on my computer screen I saw the would be Catilines and Caesars sitting next to men and women of honor. It is strange how the more things change the more they stay the same.

So, login at www.epell.net and see what is afoot at City Hall.

Lastly, the true meaning of a life is politics should be service, not self.

Our city and our nation need men and women who will serve with honor and humility. May God bless America and them.

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