Caesar's Acta

The acta of Caesar should not be read in this senate or in any other part of the Roman Empire. Caesar is now gone and he has been so for quite some time, so we must move on without his help. If we are to truly take control and run Rome as it should be run, we must take responsibility for ourselves. We must not rely on Caesar to keep running things from his grave. We are supposedly wise men (some men wiser than others), so we must use our own wisdom to run this government. The acta is the will of Caesar, and although I was a friend of Caesar, I believe that his time has gone and that we must get on with life without Caesar. I am a man of action, so I do not believe that we should stand by idly without putting effort into running things. This means that even if we must get down into the dirt with the plebs to make sure that our actions are just and right, then that is what we must do. We must take it upon our own shoulders now and pave our own path to the future, for if we rely on others to do our work for us, we will accomplish nothing. By using the acta of Caesar to decide our appointments to office and the running of our foreign policy, we are handcuffing ourselves to the past. I believe that the past has many uses, it is useful to learn from past mistakes, to learn strategy and wisdom from the past helps us to make the future, however I do not believe that we should allow the past to run the present. We must take present matters into our own hands and guide the present into the future that we desire. These matters may sometimes be a heavy burden, but we must prevail and carry on no matter how heavy the burden becomes. I once said that I would give my life for Rome, and I still stand by that assertion. I bear the burden of office gladly because I believe that my wisdom may help better Rome. I fear the day when I am no longer useful and am only a burden upon the Roman people, on that day I will step aside and hope that a better man will receive my position. However, until that day I will not back down from any of my responsibilities and I would hope all of you would feel the same. This is why I believe we must not read the acta of Caesar. I hope that my fellow senators take pride in their duty and are more than willing to stand up for what they believe in no matter who it means opposing. It is often hardest to oppose one’s friends, and that is the only difficulty for me in opposing Caesar’s acta. However, to oppose the will of one who has passed on is not the same as opposition in life. There is no way for Caesar to present his argument on why he has appointed these men or why he believes certain policies should be enacted now. If he were still alive today, perhaps he would not make the same choices. These were Caesar’s beliefs as of a month ago, and if we allow the acta to be enforced, we may be making choices that are post dated. Thus, I believe that the senate should help shape the future and decide all of the matters that now present themselves to us. We can keep moving toward a better tomorrow if we all join together and try to make it so. Who could fault us if we give our best for the sake of Rome? However, if we think only of ourselves and what we have to gain from Caesar’s appointments, then I am sorry to call myself a senator. I have the courage to stand against the acta and all who support it. Now the question is, do you?