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Originally Posted by Marie Monday
um what you describe there is kind of fascist and very oppressive though. If you personally don't experience obvious consequences of oppression that doesn't mean you're not oppressed. The whole idea of a dictator is that they enforce their own authority and opposition is not allowed, which can't be enforced without violence towards dissidents, which is not benevolent.
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I guess if you look at Rome vs Nazi Germany, both were dictatorships but within Germany people were scared and very careful not to say the wrong thing, and always worried about being denounced (proof? Who needs proof?) whereas in Rome, well I'm not going to keep repeating myself but for me, if you were a Roman citizen, rule by the emperor, specifically JC, was a form of benevolent dictatorship. I mean, I haven't checked but I assume the word comes from a version of "what I say goes" kind of thing. Anyway, it's just a question. Leave me alone.
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Originally Posted by rubber soul
Yeah, that's kind of like saying you don't have to worry about being repressed in America- as long as you're a Republican. (Or a Democrat if they happen to be in charge)
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That however is not right. All Americans, regardless of political affiliation, are citizens, whereas in Rome it was, in general, non-Romans who got persecuted, usually on religious grounds. So I would not agree that there's a correlation there. Maybe if Trump had managed to actually stay in power for another term, who knows?