[« Universal Coverage vs. the Status Quo] [The American Dream Revisited »]
01/26/2008: "The Byzantine Circus"
As the political season in the USA heats up, I am reminded of the Byzantine Circus. The word Byzantine is now defined as: "characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue; devious." This is because the Byzantine Empire was maintained by a level of scheming and intrigue that has yet to be surpassed even in our modern age of electronic media.
This brings me to think about one of the primary methods that the Byzantine Emperors used to maintain power: keeping the various factions fighting against themselves so that they could never unite against the Emperor.
I read an interesting book about the Byzantine Empire, and the thing that struck me the most was the Circus Factions. The Circus in Rome and Byzantium was the chariot races which were very very popular. In fact these games were more important in Byzantium than football is in the USA, or soccer in the rest of the world. There were 2 factions which supported two separate teams, the Reds and the Greens, and their motivations were entirely sports related; they had almost no political interest whatsoever. However, they were powerful due to their numbers, and they would fight each other like cats and dogs causing riots that disrupted the entire Byzantine nation. Eventually the Emperors, particularly Justinian, realized that these factions could be turned from a disruptive force that threatened the survival of the nation, into a "useful" force that could be utilized to help the Emperor stay in power. The Emperors would favor one faction against the other, promoting their leaders in government, giving them perks and giving them added attention over the losing faction. By this time, these factional wars oddly had very little to do with outcome of the chariot races. The factions would signify themselves by hair style, clothing, badges, etc. When one faction was looking like it was getting a little too powerful, the Emperor would encourage the other faction to step in and push out the other. In this way the Byzantine Emperors kept Constantinople under their collective thumbs without having to use their own personal power to maintain order. The people were so obsessed with these factional contests that had zero effect upon the outcome of government that the Emperors were able to maintain their power and authority regardless of the success or propriety of the government itself.
In the USA we now have a very similar set up: the Reds and the Blues. They even have colors!!!!!! And both sides get so worked up about the other side, over the most trivial issues, that they ignore the fact that both sides are essentially the same. Even when they differ in words they almost never differ in actions. What difference does it make if Hillary, Barak, Rudy, or Mitt win the election???? None will have real authority to do what they say they will do, and none will make a decision without the prior approval of the real rulers, whoever they may be. The only difference I see between the Byzantine Empire and our current Emperors of the Modern World is that the Byzantine Emperors used to be required to maintain a certain public presence with appropriate pomp and circumstance. Our current Emperors hide in the background funneling billions of dollars to one cause or another, and fighting amongst themselves in battles we are too ignorant to even understand.
This brings me to the word 'Circus'. In ancient times, the Circus was merely a place where people met to enjoy sports. Now 'Circus' is defined as "a frenetic disorganized and often comic disturbance..." Where the Byzantines had the heart thumping excitement of the chariot races to propel them to meaningless action, we seem to rely upon the electronic media to provide us with the modern definition of circus to motivate our political lives and choices. But what sort of circus are we enjoying? Is it the acrobats we are watching, or the clowns????