Eventually the media feeding frenzy calmed down. While Gary Condit was never charged in the death of Chandra Levy, his reputaion and political career suffered irreparable damage. Talk about the distraction of "bread and circuses!"
Well, enough of this foolishness already! I do fear that Juvenal would probably be out of a job in the 21st century, since in our modern times we do not really need a literary genius of his calibre, only a humble scribe to write down the events of the day--epic or inconsequential--gleaned from the mass media, especially those on the small screen.
Yes, Decimus Junius, it is indeed hard NOT to write [down] satire in these times, in the midst of a civilization, whose people and (seemingly) its government are so consumed with panem et circenses, that it continually satirizes itself.
You probably would have liked Benjamin Franklin-our first great man of letters, and though not in your league as a writer of satire, was no slouch with words. Like you, he served human liberty. As the story goes, this exchange of conversation occurred as the now infirm 81-year old was carried out on a "sedan" from Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 after he and the other 38 delegates had signed the Constitution:
"What kind of government do we have, Mr. Franklin?"
"A republic," the elderly statesman, writer and scientist replied, ". . .if you can keep it. . ."
Copyright 2003, Thomas James Martin, all rights reserved.
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