tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post2108767051467219692..comments2024-03-18T07:44:25.387+00:00Comments on Pop Classics: The West Wing: A Proportional ResponseJuliettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-47294521242108809602013-03-18T00:09:14.540+00:002013-03-18T00:09:14.540+00:00I think it's less that being American can get ...I think it's less that being American can get you out of trouble than we Americans *think* being American can get us out of trouble, which is stupid. Whether you're talking about the Roman Empire or the United States of America, unless you're somebody important (or if avenging you/defending you is politically convenient) I really don't think being from a certain place gets you anywhere.<br /><br />Barrlet seems exceedingly fond of reciting anecdotes with questionable sources. I mean, a lot of people do that, but if you're running a country, I dunno, maybe you should fact check yourself?sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-14122330326645505062013-01-29T12:25:12.147+00:002013-01-29T12:25:12.147+00:00Is this subject connected with your education or m...Is this subject connected with your education or maybe is it more about your leisure and kinds of spending your free time?Troy the writerhttp://setyourownrules.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-49106375732346962112012-10-04T20:53:19.356+01:002012-10-04T20:53:19.356+01:00Now *that* would be a surprise!Now *that* would be a surprise!Juliettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-2291183366606951162012-10-04T20:41:23.344+01:002012-10-04T20:41:23.344+01:00One of these days, a television show ought to feat...One of these days, a television show ought to feature that trick with the showing the pic of the wife and kids, going off to the dangerous foreign land on assignment...<br /><br />And then coming back alive, in one piece, and none the worse for wear.William Kendallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00331324250821836822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-81992683688781686142012-10-01T00:23:36.595+01:002012-10-01T00:23:36.595+01:00With a bit of google-fu: Cicero Verres 2.V.147: T...With a bit of google-fu: Cicero Verres 2.V.147: The necks of Roman citizens were broken in a most infamous manner in the prison; so that very expression and form of entreaty, “I am a Roman citizen,” which has often brought to many, in the most distant countries, succour and assistance, even among the barbarians, only brought to these men a more bitter death and a more immediate execution. (Yonge translation from <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0018%3Atext%3DVer.%3Aactio%3D2%3Abook%3D5%3Asection%3D147" rel="nofollow"> Perseus</a>)<br /><br />Lord Palmerston 1850 in a speech on the Don Pacifico affair, known as the <a href="http://www.victorianweb.org/history/polspeech/foreign.html" rel="nofollow">Civis Romanus Sum Speech</a>: and whether, as the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from indignity, when he could say Civis Romanus sum; so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England, will protect him against injustice and wrong. RWMGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04271851970303022440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-38372101157664199892012-09-30T15:43:17.919+01:002012-09-30T15:43:17.919+01:00And, in any event, old Paul's right of appeal ...And, in any event, old Paul's right of appeal didn't, in the end, do him <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio-Crucifixion_of_Peter.jpg" rel="nofollow">a whole lot of good.</a>NomadUKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-39082748490318139032012-09-29T16:33:30.414+01:002012-09-29T16:33:30.414+01:00I suppose being able to claim Roman citizenship mi...I suppose being able to claim Roman citizenship might have been helpful when dealing with (quasi-) state-level actors outside the empire. Fear of reprisal could help keep the Parthians and maybe even a somewhat farsighted Celtic or Germanic chieftain from doing too much to you. That's a line that is rather more applicable to the case here, I would think.<br /><br />It used to be said that US citizenship could also get you out of trouble back in the 50s/60s. That was probably a bit of wishful thinking. There's a scene in Vonnegut's <i>Cat's Cradle</i> where a character starts waving his passport and shouting "American!" at a tornado.<br /><br />The writers have probably confused the citizen's right to appeal to the emperor over the local governor (as with St. Paul) and the story that a naked virgin with an armful of gold could walk across the Mongol empire unmolested in the days of Genghis Khan. I'm not sure where that story cropped up. Maybe Marco Polo? It's sometimes said of Arthurian England, too, but I'm pretty sure that's a fairly modern interpolation.DemetriosXnoreply@blogger.com