"If Only the People Had But One Neck"

On psychopathic politicians

Like his colleague Plutarch, the Roman historian Suetonius is thought to have attributed too much significance to anecdotal evidence instead of conducting thorough investigations. While his historical accounts may not have been the most factually accurate, Suetonius remains one of the greatest storytellers in all of literature.

Suetonius recorded a story about the the third Roman Emperor, Caius Cæsar Augustus—AKA, “Caligula”—that I have frequently thought about it in recent years. While attending a contest in one of Rome’s arenas, he became enraged when the commoners cheered a faction that he disfavored, and he was overheard saying:

Utinam populus Romanus unam cervicem haberet!

If only the Roman people had but one neck!

As Seutonius described him, Caligula was a psychopath. An iteration of Caligula’s contempt for the people he ruled was (purportedly) expressed by the French King Louis XV when said: Après moi, le déluge (“After me, the flood."). A variation of this statement is Après nous, le déluge, in which he referred to himself and his favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour. In other words, the King was completely indifferent to whatever happened to his people (and the rest of mankind) after he and his girlfriend died.

I’m increasingly concerned that many leading politicians today resemble Caligula and Louis XV. I suspect that many are primarily interested in their self aggrandizement, and have little empathy or concern for the people they rule.

I recently had a nightmare that incorporated the 1983 film The Dead Zone—an adaptation of the Stephen King novel—starring Christopher Walken. The film’s protagonist has the terrible gift of being able to see the future. When he encounters an aspiring politician (played by Martin Sheen) he clearly sees that the man is narcissistic psychopath who will intentionally start a nuclear war with Russia.

I woke up from the nightmare thinking NOT about Joe Biden, but about Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. For some reason I felt compelled to Google the words “Anthony Blinken Psycho,” and the top of the search result was the following photograph:

Turns out, in 1995, Blinken was the associate producer of a film titled The Addiction, directed by Bronx-born filmmaker Abel Ferrara and starring Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra.

To be sure, my dream was a mere association of ideas that (coincidentally) found expression in the weird world of cinema. Another association of ideas is the rather creepy perception that California Governor Gavin Newsom resembles the antihero in the film American Psycho:

Contrasting with these spectacular and theatrical associations is an audio recording of Adolf Hitler having a conversation with the Finnish engineer Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. Before I heard this conversation, the only recordings of Hitler I’d ever heard were his crazy-sounding speeches in which seems to be furiously yelling.

In his Mannerheim conversation, he is perfectly calm, and speaks with a soft Austrian accent. Most notably, he marvels at the extraordinary and unexpected output of Russian industry—a frank confession that he has totally underestimated Russia’s military capability and now regrets it.

Judging by Hitler’s speech alone, there seems to be nothing crazy about the speaker. He seems rational and matter-of-fact. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly crazy that a single man would possess such enormous power to move millions of armed men all over Europe as though the Continent is his personal chess board.

I suspect that the current so-called “leaders” of the United States and Europe have learned nothing from history. I wouldn’t be surprised if they blow up the European Continent.