A vital (and unlearned) lesson from Julius Caesar
When a band of Roman traitors was uncovered, he urged they not be killed due to the precedent it would set
Julius Caesar then stood and noted that Roman law forbids the execution of Roman citizens even for heinous crimes, and that executing the conspirators would thus require the creation of a radical and dangerous precedent: dangerous because to vest the power in the State to kill its own citizens, even if justified in the specific case where it is first done, would be to vest the power generally and thus ensure its inevitable abuse. Thus, even as Caesar ... Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
A history lesson from Mr. Greenwald with obvious implications for the present.