Slaughter In The Streets

Let them hate. So long as they fear.

-- Caligula

In the end, all dictators govern by fear. Long-suffering citizens obey orders only because they are convinced that a single individual has no hope of opposing the overwhelming forces loyal to the state. A dictator falls when fear changes sides, when individuals coalesce into crowds and defy him. Emboldened by the discovery that they are not alone, they take to the streets and squares to protest, and they learn -- though sometimes at great cost -- that no tyrant can kill or arrest an entire nation. At that point, despots lose...