From the Forum to the Feed: Why Sulla, and the Threats Against Senator Mark Kelly Show Us That a Classical Education Still Matters

In the relentless churn of the modern news cycle, it’s easy to become numb to the outrageous. Yet, some moments still possess the power to shock. Recently, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, publicly attacked Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and astronaut, disparaging the character of a decorated combat veteran who has commanded the Space Shuttle

The target of this vitriol was Senator Mark Kelly. This is not a man of ambiguous character or service. Captain Kelly’s 25-year career in the United States Navy and NASA is a testament to courage under fire and the pursuit of discovery. He flew 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm and later commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavour, representing our nation at its highest heights. His strength of character is further defined by his resilience at home, standing steadfastly by his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, following her attempted assassination. Kelly advocates for gun control, motivated by this attempted assassination. By any traditional measure, he is the embodiment of a life dedicated to the service of the American republic.

And yet, in a social media post, his former commander-in-chief declared that Kelly “was suffering from a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” and mused that his alleged actions were “an act of Treason, punishable by DEATH.”

Faced with this, we have two options. We can see it as an isolated, unprecedented spasm of political fury—the chaotic noise of our current era. Or, we can recognize it for what it is: a political tactic so old its origins lie not in social media algorithms, but in the sun-baked marble of the ancient world.

To understand the strategy at play, we need to trade the digital glow of our screens for the Roman Forum of 82 BC.

The Playbook Written in Stone: Sulla’s Proscriptions

After winning a brutal civil war, the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla declared himself dictator. To consolidate his power and eliminate his rivals, he revived and perfected a terrifying tool: the proscriptio.

Sulla had lists of names posted publicly in the Forum. Any man on that list was immediately stripped of his citizenship, his property, and his legal protections. He was declared an enemy of the state. A bounty was placed on his head, and anyone could kill him without penalty. His assets were confiscated by the state, and his sons and grandsons were barred from holding public office.

This was not simply a list of enemies. It was a brilliant and brutal piece of political communication. As a historian, I can tell you it served three strategic functions that are startlingly relevant today:

1. It Created a Single Source of Truth: In a city rife with rumors, Sulla’s list was the only one that mattered. It authoritatively defined who was a friend and who was an enemy. There was no room for debate.
2. It Weaponized the Public: The proscriptions turned ordinary citizens into instruments of the state’s purge. Neighbors turned on neighbors, driven by fear or greed for the reward. Sulla didn’t need to use his own soldiers for every killing; he had outsourced the terror.
3. It Isolated and Dehumanized the Target: A man who was a respected senator one day was, by the next, a hunted animal. The proscription severed all his social and political ties, making him utterly vulnerable and serving as a chilling example to anyone else who might consider dissent.

The Forum Becomes the Feed

Now, fast-forward two millennia. The technology has evolved from stone tablets to digital screens, but the strategic function of public denunciation remains the same. A powerful political figure’s social media feed has become the modern Roman Forum.

When Donald Trump publicly attacks General Kelly, he is not merely venting. He is executing a modern proscription.

He is attempting to strip a man of his most valuable asset: his public character. The goal is to reframe a four-star general with a lifetime of decorated service as a "traitor." The threat of "DEATH" is not a literal order, but it serves the same function as Sulla’s bounty: it signals to a mass following that the target is no longer part of the tribe. He is an enemy, and any attack on him is justified.

Look at the mechanics. A single post creates an authoritative "truth" for millions of followers. It weaponizes them to amplify the message, swamp social media, and attack the target’s reputation. And it isolates the target, casting him out from the political movement he once served at the highest level. The playbook is identical.

Why a Classical Education Is Not a Luxury, But a Necessity

This brings us to the crucial question: So what? Why does a 2,000-year-old parallel matter?

It matters because without this historical context, we are civically blind. We see the event with Trump and Kelly in a vacuum, dismissing it as more partisan chaos or the unhinged behavior of one individual. We fail to recognize the pattern.

A classical, humanistic education—one grounded in history, literature, and philosophy—is not about memorizing dates or long-dead figures. It is about learning the patterns of human nature, power, and rhetoric that are timeless. It provides the framework to understand that while the costumes and the technology change, the fundamental dramas of power, loyalty, and betrayal do not.

Studying Sulla doesn't just teach you about the late Roman Republic. It teaches you how authoritarians consolidate power. It shows you that publicly denouncing former allies is a classic move to enforce absolute personal loyalty over institutional allegiance. It gives you the vocabulary and the conceptual tools to identify a proscription when you see one, whether it’s chiseled in stone or posted online.

This type of education is the antidote to historical amnesia. It allows us to distinguish the signal from the noise. It transforms us from passive consumers of shocking headlines into discerning citizens who can say, "I have seen this before. I know what this is. And I know where it can lead." It allows you to disregard all the noisy news of the day, and identify what the really important stories, in this case, will the electorate let President Trump get away with another indecency and illegal act?

The tools may have changed from the Forum to the feed, but the echoes of history are a clear warning. A liberal arts education is not an indulgence for the elite; it is a foundational requirement for anyone who wishes to understand the forces shaping our world and safeguard the future of our own republic. It is our responsibility to learn how to listen.

Reference

Cartwright, M. (2016, May 6). Sulla's second civil war. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/913/sullas-second-civil-war/