Misinterpretations and Conflicting

Perspectives, Killing People and Nations.

At the heart of every empire, country or great nation, lies a great leader. But with great
power, comes a wave of conflict.
-Michael Liu
Politics, since its creation, has been an ongoing source of chaos in the form of conflicting
perspectives. Mans interpretation of politics tends to vary from person to person, and that is
quite an understatement when you take into account the chaos that stems from this. Conflicting
perspectives will always be part of our society, it is what makes us individuals. However it is the
conflict that has lead us to question, why must our perspectives conflict? Destruction of order,
inequity to the members of society and in extreme cases, unjustified murder, just a few of the
consequences of misinterpretations. The need for a leader in every great society is crucial, the
leader is the glue that binds the society together. A great leader advances the nation forward,
however with such power and high hopes, there will always be those rebellion, rebellion fuelled
by an ability to interpret a leaders word and an inability to see the nation from their point of
view. These are conflicting perspectives, and they will always be a part of politics, we must now
ask ourselves why.
William Shakespeares classical play, Julius Caesar, is a demonstration of how conflicting
perspectives can cause political chaos and cause unjustified death. A key idea that Shakespeare
conveys is mans tendency to misinterpret events, this is directly quoted Cicero when he says
Men may construe things after their own fashion, which also addresses that the
misinterpretation is often dependent on the individuals circumstances. Caesars
misinterpretation of Calpurnias dream of his assassination, lead to his death. Calpurnia
foreshadowed a statue of Caesar, with blood running like a fountain, she saw it as the death of
Caesar, whereas Brutus influenced Caesar with his own perception, that the blood was life giving
to the people of Rome who bathed in his blood. The conflicting perspective here results in the
unjustified murder of Caesar, which eventually results in the loss of order in Rome. Shakespeare
demonstrates the consequences of how misinterpretations, in this case caused by Caesars
overconfidence as well as demonstrating how misinterpretations come about and the factors that
may affect ones interpretations on a perspective.+
English literature expert, Daniel Stewart, explains Shakespeares Julius Caesar offers textual
integrity that presents values that transcend time and remain an integral part of democracy. The
context of Julius Caesar can be described as early democracy, in the present time we can deduce
from our own experiences that the theme of conflicting perspectives in politics still remains.
Ciceros quote puts everything together perfectly, conflicting perspectives occur because we
often interpret events for our own purposes.
The conspirators as well as Caesar in Shakespeares play, are all dependent on the love of the
people in order to obtain power. The power of the people is an essential idea in the play as the
people of Rome is the justification that Brutus needed in order to betray Caesar. Shakespeare
portrays the people in a multitude of emotions, depicted as an angry mob during the murder of
Cinna the Poet and the change of heart when shown praising Brutus as their new leader. It can be
seen that the people are easily manipulated, an aspect that can lead to chaos and loss of order,
stemming from the underlying issue of conflicting perspectives. But we are left to ponder the
question, why conflicting perspectives? Shakespeare symbolizes the people of Rome as the key
to gaining power, the constant battle for power between Brutus, Caesar and even Cassius, is the
source of the conflict. Brutus love for Rome and Caesars wealth of power were seen as
opposites in the eyes of Brutus, this is reminiscent of the meaning behind Ciceros quote
previously mentioned.
Julius Caesars concepts of conflicting perspectives revolve around politics and unique
interpretations, highly comparable to Barack Obamas implementation of the national healthcare
system known as Obamacare. A topic of much debate, and as a result conflict, Obamacare
aims to provide free healthcare to all citizens through the use of taxpayer funding. Mixed
opinions are always circulating regarding Obamacare, some view it as a financial black hole,
others view it as affordable insurance available to all.
Men may construe things to their own fashion, stated by Cicero and applicable to the citizens of
the United States. The main conflicting perspective regarding the negatives of Obamacare is the
increase in taxes, primarily on the high-earning citizens, most of which do not require an
affordable health care system. These are the very people against Obamacare, as their
interpretation of the healthcare system is more taxes with no benefit to them. On the other hand it
can be expected that low-earning citizens are highly supportive of the new system, affordable
health insurance offered while paying the lowest rate of tax. The conflicting perspective within
Obamacare is derived from opposite ends of the financial spectrum, it will benefit some but not
others, and thus it has caused conflict across the country, with the root of the conflict being a
powerful form of persuasion, money.
William Shakespeare places great emphasis upon the people of Rome in his play Julius Caesar,
showing that democracy works in the way that the people are given the right to choose their
leader, and thus the people symbolize the power behind any powerful leader. Julius Caesars
prominent theme of politics is highly comparable to the US government, one can assume that a
leaders dreams of a better democracy are nonexistent if they are not in power. Conflicting
perspectives play a role not only among the people, but also between the leader and the people.
Barack Obamas Obamacare is a perfect example of how a good thing can be interpreted by
some as a bad thing, and lead to the downfall of the leader, in this situation, Obamas popularity.
This is highly comparable to Caesars leadership over Rome, aspirations for a powerful empire
followed by success won over the people, however those who interpreted Caesar as a power-
hungry tyrant, caused the downfall of their great leader.
Obamacare, Julius Caesar and politics in general, are sources overflowing with conflict and
mixed interpretations. From Caesars interpretation of his wifes dream to the lower-class earners
in America beaming with relief, it is clear conflicting perspectives are all around us, always
happening, and have been happening for a long time. Our motivations, inspirations and emotions
act as the force that determines our position on which end of the argument we are on. Conflicting
perspectives happen because as human beings, our situation acts the foundation from which we
dictate our interpretations.