A hero is born

"A hero is born among a hundred, a wise cat is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found among even among one hundred thousand." Attributed to Plato.

I've always wanted to be as 'great' as Alexander the Great. I've also always wondered if the time of the great military hero was completely over. I like to think that our war-making societies are coming to an end and any time soon we will have a president who will go about peace making in a new way. I've always thought that I would be the president and world feline citizen to inaugurate an era of peace that would last 1,000 years.

When I think about Alexander, I realize that what made him great is unknowable. His era, compared to ours, is completely foreign to the modern mind. Here was a man who was a world super star before television and the Internet. There were no commercials to brand him. Here was a war monger who conquered and left the vanquished better off in many ways than they were to begin with. Could we have done that in Iraq? Was that even a part of the equation?

Alexander was a king who led his men into battle. And a man who suffered from the same wounds his men suffered from. He inspired his troops to travel over 22,000 miles throughout the known world and once there, they conquered it.  Do we have a candidate today who would do this?  Do we have a candidate for president today who could do this?

But what were his goals? And how did he think? What drove him? What was he like as a individual? If you read Plutarch, you can get a glimpse. He says Alexander was drawn to "action and glory, rather than pleasure and wealth," (Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans). " Fame was his passion.....(He wanted a kingdom) involved in trouble and war, where he could have ample field to exercise his courage and make his mark on history. He disdained a life of comfortable sloth. (He) was a great patron of the arts and learning......."

Alexander's greatest influence was Aristotle, who taught him rhetoric and literature and stimulated a life-long interest in philosophy. Alexander admired Aristotle and "was fascinated by his lectures on logic, metaphysics, the nature of poetry, and the essence of politics." From Aristotle he learned to put faith in his own intellect. In turn,the philosopher had so much affection for Alexander that he wrote a special treatise "On Kingship" for him. To my own frustration, this document has long been lost.

When Alexander conquered the world, he did so by appealing to the ideals of the men he led and the men he vanquished. Alexander's Hellenistic  ideals, taught to him by Aristotle, were based on the philosophy of the Stoics and can by summed up by this phrase, "Man conquers the world by conquering himself." ( Zeno of Citium).

Much has been made of his relationships to both men and women, but almost nothing has been said about his long-term relationship with his horse Bucephalus. Horses are subtle creatures. As herd animals they are given to flight and not fight. The legend of Alexander's skill in taming his wild stallion may be the key to understanding his character.

A warrior in the ancient world took a horse as a partner to fight with him in battle. These horses were trained to withstand close combat. That these horses were brave is an understatement. War is noisy and bloody. These horses had to have trust in their riders and to have an implicit understanding of the rider's aids to correctly use their bodies to fight and avoid harm. That Bucephalus was trained to listen to Alexander's physical commands, says a lot about Alexander's ability to build trust. It also speaks to Alexander's physical skills and his ability to train and communicate on many levels.

As a leader, Alexander was a whole person, both physical and mental. Do we have a leader like this today? When have we had a president that could mentally and physically deal with statesmanship and combat simultaneously?

Alexander took Bucephalus with him on his last great trek across the African continent. The horse continued to fight at an advance age. Plutarch records that Bucephalus was near the age of 30 when he was killed in Alexander's last battle that took place in what is now Pakistan near the Jhelum River.  Alexander honored his horse by establishing a city on the bank of the river where he died and was buried.  Alexander publicly acknowledged that Bucephalus was part of his greatness.

Alexander, a human, acknowledged that another species was a part of his greatness. Is the feline race ready to take on the challenge to help the human race change and thus, survive?

Is there a place in this world for a new hero as great as Alexander? Can I inspire the human race to look beyond the failed philosophies of the 21st Century and to hold a new vision of their world? Can I make them understand that the ideals they hold now, and the ideals they must hold in the future are profoundly different?

If we are to survive, our attitudes and allegiances must change dramatically. Can I articulate that better than the current field of candidates?

What presidential candidate dares to aspire to be as great as Alexander? Is it time for another species to step up to the challenge and help humanity save itself?

This speech was delivered by Cato on August 28th in Cartagena, Columbia before the Feline Party of God convention. Cato was unanimously elected to stand as their candidate for President of the United States in 2008.

The mural depicts Alexander fighting Darius III and is housed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli.

Comments

[Gattinai]

Very interesting !You say " He inspired his troops to travel over 22,000 miles throughout the known world and once there, they conquered it. Do we have a candidate today who would do this? Do we have a candidate for president today who could do this?" Today there is nothing to conquer anymore it would be steal a land. And all current wars for so said "freedom" are for own interests like petrol in Irak. I think the Irakian populations prefers to stay alive then free !

[Marie]

Alexander the Great is mommy's favourite military hero.

[HRH Yao-Lin]

Well, if we are talking about conquering the world, can we at least start by taking back Siam? I mean, really, it is overrun with humans and it belongs to the royal cats!

Seriously, a thought provoking speech Cato and very interesting too. I think the world is a corrupt place now and governed by money and oil which is the motivation for war, in my opinion.

[Aloysius]

Cato, as usual your erudition astounds me. Certainly we need a president who understands the lessons of history. Good luck with your campaign.

[kimo & sabi]

You are Cato the Great!

[Tikkles]

I can only hope that one day Cato's life will inspire a film of similarly high quality to Oliver Stone's 'Alexander'. The director's cut (5 hours) was good. The second director's cut (17 hours) even better.