Executive Power 0

The ancient Romans recognized that, in times of threat, it might be necessary to concentrate power in the hands of one man.

They called him “dictator” from the verb “dictare,” to say:

dict.are V 1 1 PRES ACTIVE INF 0 X
dict.are V 1 1 PRES PASSIVE IND 2 S Early
dict.are V 1 1 PRES PASSIVE IMP 2 S
dicto, dictare, dictavi, dictatus V [XXXCX]
say repeatedly/often/frequently; dictate (for writing); compose; order;
Syncope r => v.r
Syncopated perfect often drops the ‘v’ and contYeah, he was a demagogue and a shyster. But he was a crook racts vowel
dictav.ere V 1 1 PERF ACTIVE IND 3 P
dicto, dictare, dictavi, dictatus V [XXXCX]
say repeatedly/often/frequently; dictate (for writing); compose; order;

The dictator could be appointed by the Consuls (the chief authorities of the Roman Republic) for a term not to exceed six months. During that period, the Dictator had absolute authority (in other words, his actions were not subject to veto by the Tribunes–those charged with protecting the interests of the plebeian class, that is, the common people). At the end of six months, the Dictator’s authority lapsed.

(Remember, this was before the time of the Roman Empire; the empire commenced in 44 B. C.)

Let us compare this to our current situation.

Terrorists attacked the World Trade center.

The House and Senate of the United States decided that the executive branch needed more power to attempt to investigate and prevent addition attacks. They passed the (amusingly labelled) “Patriot Act.”

Then the Executive decided that that law, in conjunction with the FISA law, passed in 1978, did not give him enough power. Among other things, FISA established a special, secret court to oversee and authorize secret surveillance. Furthermore, it authorized the Executive to commence surveillance without prior authorization, giving it a 72-hour grace period in which to obtain authorization.

No, they were not enough for the Executive.

He wanted to do what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, without supervision.

Accordingly, the Executive appointed himself Dictator, with authority to disregard laws, even as he signs them, without an expiration date. And didn’t even tell anyone about it.

By God, it’s his sandbox, and he’s going to play in it! After all, he has capital.

Huey Long was once asked if America would ever have fascism. “Yes,” he replied, “but we will call it anti-fascism.”

Yeah, Huey Long was a demagogue and a shyster. But he was a demagogue who could foretell the future and a shyster who tried to help the common man, the Plebeians, if you will. Change the words, keep the thought, and Huey’s prediction is coming true even as I type this.

And Executive in this country used to acknowledge the rule of law. What a joke.

All in all, I think the Ancient Romans had a better system. At least then the public knew when there was a Dictator, and therefore knew when the term would be up.