As Tyranny Approaches

Boethius was something of a star in Italy. By twenty-five years of age he was a senator and by the year 522, while still in his early forties, he became head of government services and endeavored to address the rampant corruption in government. However, within two years he was railroaded, imprisoned for treason, and executed.

While imprisoned Boethius penned The Consolation of Philosophy, an astounding work in which he seeks to make sense of his rise and fall and of the meaning of life. Though Boethius sought guidance from “Lady Philosophy,” his true consolation came from spirituality:

The hope which we rest in God, and the prayers addressed to him, are not in vain; when they are righteous, they cannot be ineffectual.

Statesmen and leaders committed to moral governance fell out of fashion some time ago. The corruption that once seemed the exception has became the rule and the number of seats filled with incompetence and avarice has grown like a cancer. Are our political institutions corrupted beyond repair? Time will tell.

“… the offices themselves suffer thereby, for wicked incumbents make them like themselves, by defiling them with their own pollution.”

The circumstances of today are not novel. Neither will be the solution.

But like Boethius, we must find our personal answers elsewhere.