62
Gaul
s. Leading the Gallic "tribes" in many of the battles against the
Romans was Caesar's arch opponent, Vercingetorix.
The Gauls were not tiny clusters of primitives in fur loincloths.
Their leaders often read and wrote Greek186 and argued the philosophy
of the cosmos.187 The Gallic populace was divided into substantial
nations, each of which had hundreds of thousands of citizens and was
led by its own politicians. But the Gallic realms seldom saw eye to eye.
How did Vercingetorix pull these states together into an alliance
that could face the Roman might? He used the magic word "freedom."
Vercingetorix proclaimed passionately that the Gauls must unite to
fight for liberty from Roman oppression.
What Vercingetorix failed to explain was his precise idea of how
that liberation would work. Freedom, as he saw it, would consist of
unifying all the Gallic nations so they could operate with one mind.
Whose mind? Vercingetorix's, of course. To ensure solidarity,
Vercingetorix tortured and killed those who disagreed with him. On
occasion, he was more humane. He cut off the ears and put out the
eyes of those who didn't share his views, then sent the mutilated souls
back home as a warning to anyone else who might be tempted to
entertain independent ideas.188 The freedom Vercingetorix offered the
Gauls, in short, was the exchange of one tyranny for another.
Peace is another word abused by those with hidden
pecking-order goals. It usually means, "Since I'm on top, let's keep the
status quo;" or "Now that I've managed to climb on your back, would
you please be kind enough to sit still."
"Justice" is the term used by those on the bottom of the heap who
are itching to move up. When these folks refer to "the struggle for
justice," they generally mean, "Let's keep fighting until I come out on
top." Once the devotees of justice have seated themselves on the
uppermost rung of the ladder, they too almost invariably become
staunch defenders of "peace."
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