Just out of curiosity... why do you write under the pseudonym of Brother Brutus?
Well, I wanted a pseudonym, just because I like the idea of a pseudonym when forming a writing site like that. I am published under my own name, but I really felt the need for some kind of nom-de-plume trademark, if you will.
So anyways, why Brother Brutus? I don't really have a good reason for the Brother, except that it sounds good and communicates a sort of familiarity. The Brutus part is the only part that really has any meaning I guess. Marcus Junius Brutus, to me, is a very powerful symbol of the power of a monarchial system of government to command the love and support of the people and suppress the free flow of ideas. Brutus murdered Caesar because he feared that Caesar's ambitions would lead him to dissolve the republic in favor of a far more dictatorial government, and end the rule of the people that had existed since Rome's founding. When the second triumvirate took power after the death of Caesar, they chose Caesar's assassination as a rallying point for the confused Roman citizens. They painted Brutus and his co-conspirator's as criminals of the filthiest kind, and were, out of their pseudo-communist distortions, able to change the perspective of the world, even ours two thousand years later. Brutus is a reminder that to rely too much on solely the emotional appeal of an idea is to, albeit rarely, forsake the truth and the flow of ideas in favor of emotional dictatorship.
I feel that that lesson has a very real import to modern events as well as ancient ones. Probably a more in depth explanation than you were expecting, but I hope it answered your question.
Yes, it did. Very interesting. I've toyed with some pseudonyms for my writing, but never really stuck with any. Then again, most of my writing is on my own personal website, where everyone can read my name, I suppose.
