Press Gang
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- Joined: July 28th, 2010, 9:58 am
Press Gang
Elected and electorate
are subjects of the fourth estate;
we press their buttons, pull their strings
till we’re in charge of everything.
A half-inch headline, bold and black,
can pull this country back on track
if politicians stray too much
to Left or Right, so out of touch
with middle ground (which we control)
that we invoke opinion’s poll
and load the questions carefully
so even Parliament can see
we guard democracy – and yet
quis custodes custodiet?
are subjects of the fourth estate;
we press their buttons, pull their strings
till we’re in charge of everything.
A half-inch headline, bold and black,
can pull this country back on track
if politicians stray too much
to Left or Right, so out of touch
with middle ground (which we control)
that we invoke opinion’s poll
and load the questions carefully
so even Parliament can see
we guard democracy – and yet
quis custodes custodiet?
In Memorial .
- Little John
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- Joined: January 2nd, 2010, 1:46 pm
- Location: SE London
Re: Press Gang
I was following that right up till the last two lines. I never did latin. I think Simon did.
Yes this is the real "Little John" (or it could be "colin")
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Re: Press Gang
Hi, John,Little John wrote:I was following that right up till the last two lines. I never did latin. I think Simon did.
just means 'who guards the guards?' - from Juvenal's Satires. He was talking about the practice of hiring men to protect the chastity of wives while hubby was off at war; he suggested the wives would start with those guards, a bit of a misogynist I think,
Jim
In Memorial .
- SRD
- Rantipole
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Re: Press Gang
Nice pome.
Or a realist.
Code: Select all
a bit of a misogynist I think
Children are like Slinkys - not much use for anything, but it always brings a smile to your face when you throw them down the stairs. Chinchilla
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- Joined: July 28th, 2010, 9:58 am
Re: Press Gang
Hi, Simon,SRD wrote:Nice pome.Or a realist.Code: Select all
a bit of a misogynist I think
thanks for stopping by, always appreciated. As to the Juvenal's realism, I think it tended more to the cynical. I doubt that his targets would have agreed with his opinions.
Jim
In Memorial .
- SRD
- Rantipole
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- Joined: December 31st, 2009, 7:23 pm
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Re: Press Gang
Hmmmm - Cynic of course had a rather different interpretation in the Ancient World. Some have considered that the very essence of Cynicism is realism, although a certain Spartan outlook might be more apposite.
Children are like Slinkys - not much use for anything, but it always brings a smile to your face when you throw them down the stairs. Chinchilla