This is the Friends of History Debating Society. I am Gaias. I'm in Lindenium with my dear friend Germanicus.

We're philosophizing with cups of wine. It's chilly. We're very far from Rome, however, and warm with the confidence that we're not being overheard by a paranoid emperor.

And we turn to philosophizing not about Roman Republic in the first century.

It's doing very well.

It'll have a very good second century as well.

We can see ahead.

It'll hit some rough spots in the third century.

And then the game is afoot.

Well, we're in the comfortable first century, which will be celebrated.

We have confidence for 2,000 years for containing all sorts of lessons for how to govern

when you inherit the Roman Empire.

And America inherited the Roman Empire.

And we're right now observing America

interregnum. The old emperor, Tiberius, who is tired, is leaving the stage. The new emperor,

Trump, who is not tired and resembles the Gracchus brothers in that he's a member of the elite who is not tired and resembles the Grakus brothers in that he's a member of the elite who is celebrated, elected, majority elected by the plebes, the non-elite people, to affect a better day.

And the question now is, what about the elites that oppose Trump, the senators, the blue senators, the ones with degrees, lots of degrees, lots of approval, lots of bona fides.

They even speak in Latin, does the elite team in the 21st century, which is entertaining, but okay, fine.

So I was looking through Eshop's fables to entertain myself, and the Greeks do have a sense

of humor.

I spoke recklessly.

It's not my sense of humor.

I'm a Roman.

...