In an email to me Duane DiChiara expressed some passing interest in my last post on the Orange County election reform legislation that referenced election "reform" restrictions in ancient Rome. His email inspired me to jot down a few more items herein that might cause political reformers to think some of their ideas may not be so new.
Take, for example, the Freedom of Information Act, or as it is known more appropriately in California, the Public Records Act. Reformers passed these laws in the post-Watergate era to try to make government more transparent, of course, to help the public gain access to government writings.
Government writings, chronicling of events, and public access to them, however, are nothing new. The keeping of official records was an early feature of the Roman state, over 2,000 years ago. But do you know why they kept these records? Because the Government could take no formal action without first formally ascertaining the will of the gods, which required the keeping of records. Thus, government records were a matter that also involved religious authorities, who kept an annual register of government information in the Roman temples. If you were a Roman "man of liberty," (Cicero) and you wanted "freedom of information," you got it, at least to the extent it was written, by going to consult the religious authorities and reviewing the stone tablets (assuming you could read).
Abuse of process for political purposes was also familiar to Rome’s political operatives. The Courts were frequently used in ancient Rome for political purposes. It is said that the politician, Cato the Elder, was brought to trial 40 times in his career for claims that today would amount to libel, slander, or misrepresentation in his political speeches. The "possessor of a vituperative tongue," he "often pleaded his own defense," and was "invariably acquitted." Cato was also Rome’s first banker.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (d. 133, 121 BC) were brothers who found that offering the public free grain could result in more votes and more power. But their efforts lead to the public demanding more and more, and in fulfilling their role as "change agents" on behalf of the free grain vote to the Roman Senate, they both ended up in violent deaths.
I suspect after their murders, the Gracchus brothers opponents might have said to their supporters, "well, there is good change and bad change," to justify their acts. But while the 2008 Presidential election has had a lot of talk about change, it is evident from ancient history that talk about change from politicians is also nothing new.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Jim:
Excellent discussion!
My favorite Roman tradition involves a “Tribune of the People” who could suspend
any unjust government action pending a hearing.
His constituents would beg him to rush to the scene of an unjust arrest or seizure.
The Tribune carried a Roman Fasces, his symbol of authority, consisting of an axe
bound by wooden rods and held together by a leather strap.
Arriving on the scene, the Tribune would hold up the fasces and shout, “VETO!”
the Latin equivalent of, “I forbid it”…. and whatever Roman police or officials were
within his hearing would instantly stop further action.
The Founding Fathers of this nation studied the history of Rome and Greece with
meticulous care, seeking lessons they could apply to America, two Millenniums later.
So far, Washington, Madison and Jefferson seem to have drawn all the right lessons !
January 15th, 2008 at 12:00 am
And “Sic Semper Tyrannis” for those who try to hide government files under FOIA and the Public Records Act. Where there’s smoke, especially in government affairs, there’s fire.