That Publius Guy (a word about the title)

I used to think that that the pen-name for the authors of the Federalist Papers was just a clever form of anonymity- dubbing themselves 'Publius', the voice of the concerned public. Not exactly. Hamilton, Madison and Jay didn’t just pull any authoritative-sounding Greek name out of a hat. Like most intellectuals of the day, they were at least passingly familiar with classical history. In fact, Publius was just another front in the PR war. In the Introduction to my copy of the Federalist Papers, Kesler writes:

[Hamilton] chose 'Publius' as the pseudonym, trumping his adversaries invocation of heroes of the late Roman republic (Brutus and Cato) with a reference to one of the founders and saviors of republican Rome- Publius Valerius Publicola, whose biography was paired with that of Solon in Plutarch's famous Parallel Lives. Solon, the democratic lawgiver of Athens, had lived to see his polity overthrown by a tyrant; but the Roman Publius firmly established his republic, which endured and expanded for centuries. Moreover, after making his laws, Solon had left Athens for ten years in order to avoid having to interpret his legislation. By contrast, Publius had remained in Rome in order to serve as consul, to improve (at a critical moment) the city's primitive republican laws, and to impart his own spirit of moderation, justice, and wisdom to the regime. What did this imply for the American Publius? At least this, that he wished to seize a fleeting moment favorable to constitution-making- when the wise and moderate men of the Federal Convention would have their greatest influence- in order to form a just and enduring republic in an extensive land.

So other than a nice history lesson, what does this mean for this blog? Why did I chose 'We Are Publius' as my title?

It certainly wasn't out of arrogance. I have no pretentions about being the next Madison. I can only dream of being half as good of a writer, and the number of important civic topics on which I am not entirely woefully ignorant is laughable. If the future of American republicanism is resting on my shoulders, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

Except, in a way, it is. I am an American citizen, and proud to be. I love my country. I think the 'American Experiment' is one of the most incredible achievements in human history, not because we always live up to our vision, but we constantly strive to. And we learn from our mistakes. We are a work in progress, and we're still young, but even 200 years later, we cannot be judged a failure. I hope we never are.

But inorder to ensure our success, we all need to be Publius. We need to serve as consuls (representatives, at all levels), improve our laws in the constant pursuit of justice tempered by mercy, and impart our own common-sense spirit of endeavor, of charity, of moderation and love of liberty.

And that's why I started this blog. This is my challenge to myself, and to others: to be a better citizen. Better informed, more thoughtful, more active, less complacent citizen, of America, and of the world. It won't be an easy task, and not one to be completed in a year, or two, or even a lifetime. But I'm not sure I can think of a better charge.