Marcus Aurelius, Philosopher King?
Plato wrote of the philosopher king. He described a ruler who combined philosophical knowledge and temperament with political skill and power. Since that time, there has been only one ruler who embodied Plato’s description. Although Marcus Aurelius, in his humility, saw himself as merely a student of philosophy, he was the personification of this Platonic ideal.
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Hero of Two Worlds
As Joseph Campbell said, “a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” I can think of no greater example of a hero than Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was a man who combined the personal magnetism of George Washington, the convictions of Abraham Lincoln, and the swashbuckling joie de vivre of Errol Flynn.
Italian Americans & The Confederacy
Last week as I watched the Confederate flag paraded through the Capitol, I was reminded of a conversation I recently had with another Italian American who defended flying the Confederate flag. His position was that he lived in a former Confederate state where many of his neighbors who flew the Stars and Bars were good people who see it as part of their heritage. As I told him, I had little doubt about the goodness of the people.