_edited.png)
A few years ago, the State of New York provided the Buffalo Bills with $850 million in taxpayer funds to build a new stadium. Three days prior to announcing the subsidy, the State of New York approved an $800 million budget cut to children and family services. It’s worth noting that Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills, is worth $5.8 billion. This begs the question: Why were New York taxpayers expected to pick up the tab for his stadium?
That scenario is hardly unique to the State of New York. The National Football League has upgraded stadiums, largely at the expense of taxpayers, in several cities. With the renovations came fewer general seats and more private suites. Factoring in ticket prices, parking fees, concessions, and merchandise, the average cost to attend an NFL game for a family of four last season was $631.63.
Imagine being taxed to fund the construction of a stadium, only to have a billionaire charge you admission, all so you can cheer on a bunch of millionaires playing a game aimed at diverting your attention from the fact that you’re being exploited by a ruling class who do things like tax you so they can build a stadium. It's a manipulation tactic referred to as "Panem et circenses," that dates to ancient Rome.
Some things never change, eh?
The Roman poet Juvenal is credited with coining the phrase, which is a Latin term that translates to "bread and circuses.” It refers to a concept wherein the government would provide its citizens with free food and entertainment in the form of spectacles, such as gladiator fights and chariot races. The strategy was employed by the ruling class to keep the population content and distracted from important political issues and matters of governance.
In modern times, the only thing that's really changed about the tactic is that gladiators have been replaced by football players and chariots have been replaced by race cars. Oh, and the public are the ones footing the bill for entertainment, rather than the government and the ruling class. Yes, the ruling elites have literally found a way to sucker the public into paying big money to be distracted.
T.S. Eliot wrote, “Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.”
The ruling class that causes most of society’s problems also controls them. I’ve often said that democracy is largely a guise, and that the everyman is powerless for the most part. Rather than depress oneself over this realization, however, most people would rather spin their wheels on something more enjoyable and distracting. After all, the disenfranchisement of the little guy doesn’t exactly make for pleasant conversation around the water cooler. This is likely why politics have devolved into more of a cult of personality than about the preservation of a so-called “democracy.”
In fact, in the 2016 Presidential Election, if votes not cast for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump or one of the third-party candidates had gone to a fictional candidate named “Did Not Vote,” the candidate would have taken 471 electoral college votes, with Clinton receiving 51, and Trump receiving 16. “Did Not Vote” would have won in an historic landslide.
In his book, “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle,” Chris Hedges writes:
“Today cinematic, political, and journalistic celebrities distract us with their personal foibles and scandals. They create our public mythology. Acting, politics, and sports have become, as they were in Nero's reign, interchangeable. In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we neither seek nor want honesty or reality. Reality is complicated. Reality is boring. We are incapable or unwilling to handle its confusion. We ask to be indulged and comforted by clichés, stereotypes, and inspirational messages ...”
Perhaps it’s not that people are entirely complacent toward political issues. Rather, they have come to the realization that for the most part there isn’t much the everyman can do about them. Hence, an affinity toward entertainment is more of a coping mechanism than a dereliction. But in close elections, the candidates need every vote possible. For certain candidates, an opportune way to solicit those votes is to tap into the fears of the little guy while making appearances at boxing matches, NASCAR races, and other panem et circenses. While the tactic won’t change the fact that the elites will still rule the day, it might help the ruling class win yet another election.
Meanwhile, the proletariat are left to pick up the tab, both for the entertainment they leverage as coping mechanisms, and the problems created by the bourgeoisie. It’s a story that withstands the test of time.
Comentarios