Obama’s Well, Nero’s Fire, and Commodus’ Absurd Extravagances [Reader Post]

The film ‘Gladiator’ was based loosely on the reign of Commodus, here he suspects his sister of treachery, there was an undercurrent of sexual tension hinting at an incestuous relationship in the film,  just as there was during his reign.  His relationship with gladiators was much stronger than portrayed in the film; he considered these despised slaves as his friends and trained with them, a situation that left Rome’s aristocrats dumbfounded.  He often jumped into the arena to engage them in semi-mock battle during the games; at least until the gladiator could sustain a wound and beg for mercy.  His decision to welcome the New Year walking the streets with his gladiator friends dressed in armor, instead of appearing in front of the Royal Palace with a purple toga, hastened the decision to have him assassinated.

Obama’s Well, Nero’s Fire, And Commodus’s Absurd Extravagances

Leaders are often identified with catastrophic events or levels of marked incompetence that become pivotal milestones of their reigns; Nero had his fire to mark and expose his indifference and incompetence forever, Commodus had a catastrophic fire and he responded with sensible buildings for the common Romans that were built of brick instead of wood, but his absurd extravagances and extreme Narcissism will forever mark his reign.  Obama is still building his legacy; yet the Gulf Oil Spill and his insipid response while playing golf, basketball, and taking vacations has already branded his legacy with many similarities to these infamous Roman Emperors.

Many people will point out the facts that both Commodus and Nero were completely debauched, participating in nearly every perversion known to man; as of yet, we have no indications that Obama has a degenerate past; however, we must ask, why has his past life been sealed?

While there are many mysteries surrounding our President, there are many well known facts that beg to be compared to the two Roman Emperors mentioned previously.

Both Commodus and Nero may have been greater Narcissists and Dilettantes than Obama; unfortunately, they ruled without a compliant media, thus a true comparison is only conjecture. Commodus viewed himself as a god like Hercules and often appeared wearing a lion’s hide and carrying a club like the mythical Hercules.  So far Obama has been content to allow media types to refer to him as merely god-like.  Nero imagined himself as a gifted musician; however,  the fiddle or violin was not to be invented for over a thousand years; but he played the lyre and always had his voice coach in attendance so that he could always work at improving his voice for singing, just as the teleprompter is always present when Obama addresses the public.

Commodus and Nero were bored with the mundane aspects of running an empire and left the details to subordinates, while they pursued and catered to their own whims in a manner that seems eerily similar to Obama’s frequent vacations and athletic diversions.

The legacies of Nero and Commodus could have benefited immeasurably from the sycophantic and panegyric journalists who continue to stoke the Obama Myth, despite the unprecedented self-inflicted damage that results from such obvious distortions of the truth; consequently, a written historical account continues to be manufactured that will soften the gross incompetence and petty arrogance that is the ongoing debacle of the Obama presidency.

Even though Nero and Commodus lacked a sympathetic press corps that functioned as a propaganda bureau without the honesty of a specific title, they ruled with an iron hand and with terror.  They were wise enough to realize the danger of the mob or the ire of common people, so they maintained popularity by providing games and sporting events for the common man to insure his loyalty, while taxing and accusing aristocrats of crimes so they could be executed and their wealth impounded by the state; consequently, the Redistribution of Wealth Concept can hardly be considered new or novel nor can appeasing the mob to insure longevity and a faithful base.  In time the economic integrity of Rome and its empire was crippled by the profligate economic policies of these rulers; eventually, every economic system has its breaking point.  Unrealistic spending and taxing of an economic system was just as damaging two thousand years ago as it is today.

It is hard to argue which of our Roman Emperors was the worst, just as it will be a future argument in the future to decided whether Carter was more ineffectual than Obama.

In 190 C.E. there was crop failure and a famine followed.  Normally, a conscientious Emperor would seek grain from elsewhere in the huge Roman Empire or perhaps seek help in decreasing the damage caused by an oil spill.  Commodus, in a method resembling that of Obama, busied himself in the country racing chariots and left his subordinates to tend to the boring details.  

Unfortunately, there was intrigue and competition for wealth and power among the underlings and Dionysius managed to shut off all the grain supplies to the City and blamed his main competitor, Cleander, saying that he had caused the famine by systematically looting the empire.  Rahm’s brilliance of never letting a crisis go to waste was obviously a borrowed strategy.

We are left to contemplate Obama’s Gulf Oil Spill disaster and its manipulation for political gain by the Obama Administration, while the compromises to be absorbed by the nation and its energy policy seem to be insignificant when compared to the possibility of achieving political purchase in the creation of the Obama Agenda and the recreation of America into Obama’s vague and dubious concepts of International Socialism.

In 191 C.E., anther great fire swept Rome and gave Commodus the opportunity to rebuild the city, and create a new civilization according to his own plans, much like Obama’s plans for reworking the Constitution and the institutions of the United States.  In 192 C.E., Dies Commodus (Commodian Day), was declared and Rome became a new colony, “Colonia Lucia Annia Commodia,”  and from that day on, everyone would take the name Commodus as their own.  A lowering of prices was ordered and the common people sang the praises of Commodus.

Eventually, Commodus was poisoned by his mother and strangled by a wrestler as a finishing touch, ironically his killer was named Narcissus.  The Senate announced Damnatio Memoriae (damnation of the memory) upon Commodus and that Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana was to be forever known as Rome.

Nero and Commodus were surrounded and dogged by domineering women who were hungry for power and wealth.  From their mothers to their wives and mistresses, there were continual plots and intrigues with incest and murder to spice up the results.  Obama’s domestic life seems boring in comparison; however, there are incidents like Michelle’s phantom job at the University Hospital with the lucrative salary for performing a job that didn’t and doesn’t exist unless your husband is a state senator in Illinois; and once again we have insight into the enigma of why a man seals the record of his life.

First Lady, Michelle Obama by Daniel Edwards

Nero and Commodus were bisexual and were open about their sexuality.  Nero dressed in an effeminate style and wore his hair long like a woman and this caused consternation among the Legions and Senators.  The sexual activities could be excused, but to dress as a woman was outrageous.  Obama created his own incident by wearing “Mom Jeans” to a baseball game.  Again, the leader of the most powerful nation of the world cannot dress like a woman and expect his armies to take him seriously.  A leader of men is expected to be a man in every detail!

Unbelievably, the deaths of Nero and Commodus caused grief and mourning among the common people, for in their naivete they saw these monsters as being for the common man.  With the passage of time, the general public can only see the benefits offered to them regardless of the effect on the country as a whole.

If You throw like a girl and wear Mom Jeans, why make a fool of yourself?