I wrote about the theme of bread and circuses to fascinate and occupy the minds of the citizens before. https://goo.gl/FvXzy6
I was surprised the other day when the phrase "bread and circuses" came to mind. I know that it has been used since ancient Roman times to refer to cheap entertainment and cheap food, tools for keeping the populace occupied and distracted while others carry out their plans for the people, the nation, the world, themselves. Since I spend my time reading, watching Netflix and Amazon TV and Acorn TV and writing this blog, the question arose in my mind "Am I feeding myself bread and circuses when I should be doing something else?"
I think of people besotted with alcohol or mutual funds or prayers or warfare or novels and I wonder whether I am besotted with inferior activities? Maybe I am spending my money, my calories and my hours unwisely. Maybe I should be critically examining my life and taking careful notes that might guide me in my next reincarceration. Maybe it really doesn't matter how I behave. I feel confident that drunkenness, drugs, worry, anxiety can easily be misguided and wasteful but I have trouble proving that I am right. I am surprised to find that, at least, superficially, I have to use my intuition to sort ok activities from inferior ones. Can it really be that I have no better guides than I don't feel that many of the disdained ways of living are worthy?
I get recommendations to serve. My wife wants help cooking and housekeeping. I like her, I love her and I want to support and assist her. But she shoos me away sometimes. The cooking and housekeeping are done. Is bread ok then? I don't know what to do then but drag myself to another circus. Maybe participating in a rally for or against isn't such a waste of time. I guess I need to write more poems, carve more trinkets, post more supportive comments on Facebook. I am not a member of Instagram or Snapchat or LinkedIn. Maybe I should be. I could follow Sandy's lead and sell more stuff on Ebay.
