Paul Conrad

Barbra Streisand quoted the following passage written by Conrad wrote, mistakenly attributing its authorship to William Shakespeare. It is actually from a Conrad cartoon depicting President Bush as a sword-wielding Caesar saying:

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind… And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

Conrad attributed the quote falsely to Shakespeare, probably secure in the belief that readers would not be fooled by his satiric intent. The passage is not in iambic pentameter, nor are any of the words archaic.

In the media flap following Streisand's misattribution, Reuters intially attributed the quote to Matt Drudge.

Links:

• comics archive (http://www.ucomics.com/paulconrad/)