Memento Mori
Saturday morning musings:
Somehow we've begun expecting our candidates to be Messiahs, when in reality they are merely ordinary men and women. Messianic adoration is toxic for anyone, but especially for politicians. To paraphrase Lord Acton's quote: "Adoration tends to corrupt, and absolute adoration corrupts absolutely." It is absolutely impossible for mere humans to live up to the Messianic expectations that campaign managers use in promoting their candidates.
The ancient Romans viewed this Messianic syndrome as a fatal error. They started the tradition now known as "Memento Mori," or "Remember you will die" to remind their war heroes to remain humble following a great victory on the battlefield. According to Wikipedia, a slave would follow a triumphant General along the parade route as he was applauded and praised. The slave would repeat the Latin phrase, "Respice post te. Hominem te memento," which roughly translates to "Look after you, to the time after your death, and remember you're only a man."
The Book of Proverbs has a similar warning about relying on a leader's inflated view of himself: "Plans succeed through good counsel; don't go to war without wise advice." Proverbs 20:18 (NLT).
My prayer for President-elect Trump is that he will understand the dangers of basking in Messianic applause, and will surround himself with wise counselors who will respectfully remind him of his mere humanity.
2 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now