Actors’ Eligibility for Election

Julius Caesar was a commander and a politician in ancient Rome. When he was young, he thought he might be a playwright. He was a theatrical person.

However, when he held the actual power of Rome, he made an anti-theatrical decision. He banned actors from running in the election.

 Now, it is difficult to us to understand why he did that.

 In the modern world that we live in, theatrical actors are artists or strange people who live in an almost non-profitable world.

 But please try to picture the ancient world, without any Internet, TVs, movies, or radios. The literacy rate was very low. And there was no technology for publications. From that perspective, theater could be the most powerful “media.” We can’t even imagine how strong an influence it had.

 Theatrical actors were popular people in the “media.” Julius Caesar banned the popular people in the “media” from running in the election and becoming political leaders. It is possible that he decided this because he was a theatrical person.

Of course, in our society, no one is banned from running in elections because of their occupation. In modern history, we can find many politicians who are popular people in various forms of media, whether the popularity is good or bad.

 Or, maybe we are being challenged by the ancient hero.

 Should popular people in media be political leaders?

Was Julius Caesar right? Or are we right?

 

Photo by UMC

The meals in the hospital

 

 A few years ago, I was in a hospital for a few months.

 I had many opportunities to talk with various patients in the hospital. Our main topic of discussion was the meals in the hospital. We always said negative things about the meals. Generally, a life in a hospital is full of complaints. Maybe we just wanted to have something to blame.

 One patient who was an ex-con said, “The meals in detention cells were better than the meals in this hospital!”

I assumed that this was a joke, but when I researched detention cells in Japanese police stations, I found that the ex-con’s testimony could be true.

 The cost of a meal in the hospital was less than three US dollars. The cost of a meal in a detention cell in this area was about four US dollars. A difference of one US dollar could be drastic. Detention cells are not prisons. People in detention cells have not yet been found guilty. So, they can eat better meals than patients in a hospital.

 Anyway, I said many negative things about the meals in the hospital, but now I regret saying so much. I wouldn’t be able to cook those meals with less than three US dollars. I appreciate the cooks in the kitchen. Thank you!

 I just hope that I never stay in any hospital again.

 

Picture by Murakumo