Nero was adopted by Claudius and by virtue of him succeeded to the throne in 54 AD. During the evenings Nero enjoyed the extravagance of life bestowed by Dionysus while during the day he lived with excessive ruthlessness endowed by Ares. He killed his mother, step brother, and tyrannized the citizens of the Roman Empire throughout his reign. Though he had a number of successes to his name, approximately 2000 years after his demise that is not what he is remembered for.
The image of a young Nero neatly dressed in a flowing white robe, a grand floral wreath just over his brow, fiddle in hand, singing the long lost Sack of Ilium, in the dark of the night against the backdrop of beloved Rome burning her insides out. This image is what you and I would find more intertwined with a man that once governed Rome.
A strong proponent of not venturing into the forbidden arena of being personal with any human, I hate to point out the parallel juxtaposition of Neros story and todays situation vis a vis president. Therefore, I would like to point out some of the glaring differences:
Today there is no fire ravaging a city but a flood tormenting a nation, the Sack of Ilium has been lost but a royal hymn of begging can be heard in its place, the fiddle has disappeared but a symphonic beggars stick does the job just as well, oh and wait...there are no flowing robes of white anymore but flushing suits of black.
While the citizens of the state mobilize themselves under on our Islamic tutelage, that is help thy neighbour, governance flows through this flood leaderless, rudderless and helpless. Ahoy mates, the Captain has fled to fairer and warmer lands.
I remember one of my favourite lines Id rather have bad times with you than good times If only the President had faithfully loved and truly lost.
The President, agreed, is just a puppet on a string constitutionally; however he is also the chairman of the PPP and the oracle that the ruling party looks too for guidance. The fairy pundits have been pointing their wands at the lack of leadership which is synonymous to our present government for quite some time and honestly I have closed my eyes each and every time. But whenever I close them now, I see a deeply frightful and pitiful scene; millions of homeless mothers, sisters, brothers and thousands of dead human carcasses flowing vehemently over the Indus, Kabul and Jhelum River.
While during night, the candles burn strong at the Presidency, Prime Ministers Secretariat, GHQ, and the palaces of the Judges of the Supreme Court, the smoke from those candles rises and drifts atop the monsoon winds, traveling in her miserly rhythm to the outskirts of Islamabad clouding the inextinguishably moon, the lone source of light for the 180 million poor.
Delegating responsibilities is the way of the weak during times of distress, even Obamas wife had to endure the harshest criticism for taking a vacation while the US is going through a recession. If only I could have the zeal of a PPP jiyala for an infinitely small space of time to be able to have some peace while witnessing the nation drowning.
A dog starved at its Masters gate, predicts the ruin of the state makes me ponder over the length of time that these jiyalas can remain ignorant for.
Despite the darkness of the hour and the bleakness of our situation I cannot condone looking towards the army for any assistance especially in replacing the current government. I believe we have to put an end, once and for all, to the philosophy of choosing the lesser of two evils. That train of thought has run rampantly and savagely through our 63 year old history; always & indefinitely leaving us further and further away from our destination.
In the same vein I do not foresee any deliverance of change from the opposition party (if there is one). We have witness the Last Supper perhaps a few too many times and despite being aware that Jesus (A.S.) was not amidst our rulers, we still had hoped for a change. Or at least I had.
I deeply wish I could earnestly propose a viable solution to the present set up but my personal bout of despair, and maybe even lack of knowledge, has left me in a rather inconclusive state of mind. I hold Lady Hope as strong as I can but during times like these my hand slips down her hip and off her sublime body to clutch the rough wrinkled hand of despair. I wish my Lady would forgive my act of infidelity when her sight has been replaced with the image of:
The image of a young Nero neatly dressed in a flowing white robe, a grand floral wreath just over his brow, fiddle in hand, singing the long lost Sack of Ilium, in the dark of the night against the backdrop of beloved Rome burning her insides out. This image is what you and I would find more intertwined with a man that once governed Rome.
A strong proponent of not venturing into the forbidden arena of being personal with any human, I hate to point out the parallel juxtaposition of Neros story and todays situation vis a vis president. Therefore, I would like to point out some of the glaring differences:
Today there is no fire ravaging a city but a flood tormenting a nation, the Sack of Ilium has been lost but a royal hymn of begging can be heard in its place, the fiddle has disappeared but a symphonic beggars stick does the job just as well, oh and wait...there are no flowing robes of white anymore but flushing suits of black.
While the citizens of the state mobilize themselves under on our Islamic tutelage, that is help thy neighbour, governance flows through this flood leaderless, rudderless and helpless. Ahoy mates, the Captain has fled to fairer and warmer lands.
I remember one of my favourite lines Id rather have bad times with you than good times If only the President had faithfully loved and truly lost.
The President, agreed, is just a puppet on a string constitutionally; however he is also the chairman of the PPP and the oracle that the ruling party looks too for guidance. The fairy pundits have been pointing their wands at the lack of leadership which is synonymous to our present government for quite some time and honestly I have closed my eyes each and every time. But whenever I close them now, I see a deeply frightful and pitiful scene; millions of homeless mothers, sisters, brothers and thousands of dead human carcasses flowing vehemently over the Indus, Kabul and Jhelum River.
While during night, the candles burn strong at the Presidency, Prime Ministers Secretariat, GHQ, and the palaces of the Judges of the Supreme Court, the smoke from those candles rises and drifts atop the monsoon winds, traveling in her miserly rhythm to the outskirts of Islamabad clouding the inextinguishably moon, the lone source of light for the 180 million poor.
Delegating responsibilities is the way of the weak during times of distress, even Obamas wife had to endure the harshest criticism for taking a vacation while the US is going through a recession. If only I could have the zeal of a PPP jiyala for an infinitely small space of time to be able to have some peace while witnessing the nation drowning.
A dog starved at its Masters gate, predicts the ruin of the state makes me ponder over the length of time that these jiyalas can remain ignorant for.
Despite the darkness of the hour and the bleakness of our situation I cannot condone looking towards the army for any assistance especially in replacing the current government. I believe we have to put an end, once and for all, to the philosophy of choosing the lesser of two evils. That train of thought has run rampantly and savagely through our 63 year old history; always & indefinitely leaving us further and further away from our destination.
In the same vein I do not foresee any deliverance of change from the opposition party (if there is one). We have witness the Last Supper perhaps a few too many times and despite being aware that Jesus (A.S.) was not amidst our rulers, we still had hoped for a change. Or at least I had.
I deeply wish I could earnestly propose a viable solution to the present set up but my personal bout of despair, and maybe even lack of knowledge, has left me in a rather inconclusive state of mind. I hold Lady Hope as strong as I can but during times like these my hand slips down her hip and off her sublime body to clutch the rough wrinkled hand of despair. I wish my Lady would forgive my act of infidelity when her sight has been replaced with the image of:
Millions of homeless mothers, sisters, brothers and thousands of dead human carcasses flowing vehemently over the Indus, Kabul and Jhelum River.
