This year in our political cycle, we have no doubt thought a lot about leadership, politics, and government. Jjust four short months ago, we elected a new president of our country. Without discussing anything specific from our own political parties and without making any points for any candidate by name, please think for a few minutes and comment on the following questions that this play raises. What makes a good leader? Is it okay to sacrifice the rights of an individual for the good of many, the way that Brutus and the conspirators sacrificed Caesar for Rome? What would the perfect government look like? Brutus, one could argue, is in favor of a democratic leadership. He fears the total power Caesar wanted to assume. With that being said, is it ironic at all that Brutus chose a VERY undemocratic method of finding a solution to the problem? Are there any contemporary world events-- or any in recent history-- which parallel Brutus' taking of Caesar's life? Do such comparisons help you understand Brutus' position or the world in the play?
Lit Terms 2
6 years ago
6 comments:
ok i know that i have graduated from your class but i still check this out :D. my opinions on this are that there is no such thing as a perfect government.. government is always corupt and too many people want to get to the top. i also believe that there is no such thing as a perfect leader. there will always be mistakes made and nothing can be perfect because we are humans.. i dont think that it is fair to sacrifice one for the sake of many. i think that its a noble trait to want to do that, but it could be that they are wrong as in the brutus situation. i think that if you are going to take away someones power, that they should do it without taking a life. without murder.
Nataliya Migovich
A good leader is someone who thinks of the people, but is not always concerned with everyone to the point of being too overworked. Items such as the stimulus package and universal health care are both terrible ideas in my opinion because it's really not fair to those who actually try for a living. There can never be a perfect nation, but I do think that with the right people in power, it can be a better nation. Government will always have its ups and downs, but if you have enough balance between powers, everything usually runs pretty smoothly. I personally don't think that Brutus should have gone through with the assassination until Caesar actually did screw up, but instead just kept a closer eye on him. If someone's power needs to be taken away, they should be relieved of their duties by an anonymous force and be replaced by someone that the majority of the intelligent population agree with.
Trevor Miles
A good leader does what is best for everyone and not just a small group. A good leader is someone who does the least amount of damage while handling each situation the best way possible. A leader is someone who chooses no favorites and is respectful and responsible.
To sacrifice the rights of an individual by removing them from power, banishing them, some form of disabling their link to power, but not by Killing them.
I don't believe it is possible to have a perfect government. Someone is always going to want to have more control than is necessary; or get selfish and make poor decisions. So I have no idea what it would look like.
No because it was quite a large group that chose to kill Caesar so it was a group decision.
Brutus was just trying to look out for Rome.
Whitney L.
A good leader is someone who will do what is best for the people and not for himself. A good leader can not be selfish because many people are following him. I think that the conspirators could have not killed Caesar, but took power away. If he had lost power, it would have the same effect as him being dead and not ruling anymore. I do not think that there is a perfect government. People are always going to disagree, and there is always going to be someone that hungers for power. The one that hungers for power is generally selfish, and does not care about the people. If you are a leader over many people you have to do what is best for the people, and not only consider yourself. Although, the assassination of Caesar was planned by a group, Brutus wanted to do what was best for Rome. He did what he though he should do, If Caesar didn't die, and he remained in power things could have gotten worse in the country, or they may have got better.
I think that a person in a leadership position, firstly, should be moral and rooted more in what they believe than what others think, then they should look out for other people. I think that in certain situations it is right for fews' rights to be sacrificed for many. I do believe that if it was absolutely necessary then the killing of Caesar could be justified, but I'm not sure if it was or not. I've heard that different sized countries need different kinds of governments. I don't think that a perfect government for a country is practical, or even possible. And if it did exist, someone would disagree with it.
Ben
A good leader is someone who can lead in a way that is best for the group of people in question. They shouldn't be power hungry and be willing to trust people to not take their position. And a perfect government? That's like talking about world peace. It's just not going to happen.
For example, lets take two people from our class: Me and Whitney. Even though we are best friends, we do have some disagreements. A perfect government is a government that satisfies everyone in the country (potentially). Well how can that be? Even my best friend and I have disagreements! And that's just two people! Let's take the rest of the United States. Now we have a huge mess! We have people from across the world living here. How are we going to satisfy everyone? It's just not going to happen...
A person who sacrificed their rights for many...doesn't that sound a little like Jesus? I think that Brutus made a wise choice to kill Caesar (and that sounds so cruel! :)) I just think so! If it was for the good of the people so that they won't eventually become slaves to him, then I don't see why not...
In my opinion, I think that it would actually be pretty hard to parallel Brutus' time to our time. It was just a whole different system with a whole different set of rules. During that time, the king was the king. An emperor was probably just a degree below that. Whatever the said was always done. People were scared to even insult him, because of the fear of death. We just don't have that situation anymore.
~Tammy
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