SC 2763 July 3 (Nova Roma)
Item I - Dictatorship (voted text)
The text
The Senate of Nova Roma, having convened in an emergency session, considers that:
Whereas the current situation in Nova Roma threatens the very existence of Nova Roma both as a nation and as a membership organization, and,
Whereas these crises in our organization and corporation, our finances, and our technical problems result from many causes that must be addressed so as to avoid Nova Roma from harm, as well as to ensure the orderly and enjoyable continuation of Nova Roma, and,
Whereas any solutions to these present crises should and must be done in accordance with the governing bodies of law,
Do we, the Senate of Nova Roma, by the vote of a majority, hereby appoint Gnaeus Equitius Marinus to the office of Dictator, and invest in him complete auctoritas and imperium for a period of no more than six months, trusting in him to resolve the present crises and take
whatever steps he deems necessary to prevent future harm to the Res Publica Populi Novae Romae.
The Senate conveys resolution of the following tasks, although not limited to these alone, to Cn. Equitius Marinus:
- To oversee the rewriting of corporate bylaws for Nova Roma, Inc
- To have the Constitution and subordinate laws reviewed for the purpose of amending or replacing them as are necessary to protect the respublica from harm
- To resolve the IT issues that threaten our website and on which the functions of the respublica rely
- To restructure voting procedures to make them robust against loss of technical programs or equipment.
- To simplify the magisterial structure to provide fewer magistrates with better defined roles.
In the name of the Senate and the People of the Nova Roma, and in the
sight of the Gods and Goddesses of the People of Nova Roma, under the
provision of the Constitution IV.B.1, Gnaeus Equitius Marinus,
Censorius is hereby appointed Dictator and Magister Populi of Nova Roma.
Votes and opinions
- 16 UR :
- 3 ABS
- 1 ANT.
==>The opinions
GEM: Uti Rogas, and may the Dii Immortales help me
MLA: UTI ROGAS. Senator and Censorius Marinus is one of the very few whom I could support in this position. In deciding my vote I also consider the manifest desire of the people to put ourselves back on the right track.
TGP: Now as to the proposed dictatorship. When the Roman appointed a dictator armies were at their gates. When the Romans appointed their first dictator there was an effort under way to return the kings to power. A week or so ago I stated on one of the lists that I would not support the appointment of a dictator even if I was proposed as the dictator. My opposition to a dictator has NOTHING to do with Senator Marinus or any other person who might have been nominated. It is based on my belief that while we have problems we do not have a crisis. I do not see anything that has changed and I vote NO on the proposed appointment of a dictator.
ATS: Ut pollicita sum, tertia discessio sequitur. Iterum meá quidem sententiae;, interdum aliqua facienda, etsi injucunda. Malim Novam Romam rixis omnino carere; malim omnia sine pervicaciis et obicibus esse si quid alicui displiceat. Infelicissimae;, haec ita non sunt, et mutanda. Dictaturae mihi displicent, sed ut videtur, nunc unae; nobis opus est. Dolendum'st; sed quae cum ita sint, optio alia abest. Vir quem proposuisti bonus est, et eum honestum arbitror. Assentior, etsi animo sollicito nec laetitiam capiens, ut rogas.
CCS: Uti rogas. It is time to save the republic. It is time to put politics aside and do real things. If accomplishing it means to vote for dictatorship, I'll do it. As a Roman citizen, magistrate and senator, Marinus has my support.
FAC: VTI ROGAS I don't like the dictatorship, my own personal political opinion would drive me to more democratical and popular kinds of governments. But the situation of NR is bad, I'm looking the organization from a more far point of view and I find again a disorganized group divided by superficial discussions and political games. I hope the good Marinus would concentrate his efforts to find a new identity to NR, a real mission in a real world for the members, concrete and "unvirtual" opportunities and projects. The way taken by NR during the last year is the worst road, we need a change of direction. Marinus, please, do it!
GEC: Although I do not go to the extreme that Gn. Iulius Caesar does, I cannot help but agree that each "crisis" we are called upon to deal now with was brought up in one form or another and those who did so were mocked or ignored because of political convenience. I think this because I was, of course, one of them; exempli gratia, I have advocated for the by-laws change for *years* now, offering my proposals repeatedly and simply being ignored. Our compliance with Maine law was brought up repeatedly (again, by myself among others) - only to be scoffed at and ignored because those in power disliked the messengers rather than paying attention to the message. So my personal feelings urge me to refuse to allow those in power to stand back and make someone else responsible for cleaning up the messes they have made.
Yet, the Romans themselves did not look with horror at the idea of a dictator, probably because they had no experience with our common modern understanding of dictatorial government, with Hitler, Stalin, Tito, Ceaucescu, Peron, Pol Pot, Castro, etc., standing in our collective modern consciousness as the epitome of governments marked by arbitrary cruelty and inhumanity. The Romans appointed dictators not only to carry out wars but often to simply get a particular job done: to fill vacancies in the Senate, to preside over public games, to create holidays...even just to drive a nail into the door of the temple of Iuppiter O.M. in times of plague. They did their job, and unless they were a Sulla or a Marius or a Caesar, when it was finished they simply stepped back down into regular public life.
So while I do believe that this series of "crises" has been manufactured by willful ignorance or blatant disregard on the part of some of those who have held the reins of power over the past two years, I cannot justify standing in the way of what is apparently the only solution that will hopefully make - force - those who hold power to shut up and actually listen for a change. The end does *not* justify the means, but simple dislike for the means does not make them evil, nor does it justify accepting a crippling status quo, either.
