The American people have been the world’s best-fed, not always with nutrition but with substance. Eating disorders are rampant, and what this means is when any politician promises a free lunch, many people will get in line no matter how much liberty they have to give up.
A candidate's promise of food is nothing new. The phrase is most famously associated with President Herbert Hoover, during the 1928 presidential campaign, to symbolize prosperity and economic security. The full slogan from a Republican ad was “A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, to boot.”
The food promise reached back hundreds of years. The ancient Roman poet Juvenal had it right centuries ago: give the people bread and circuses, and they'll forget they were once citizens. In 21st-century America, the formula remains relevant, well-nourished, and currently receives government subsidy.
In the Roman Empire, “panem et circenses” meant literal grain and gladiator games. In modern America, it’s SNAP cards and TikTok dopamine hits. It involves processed cheese, subsidized corn syrup, and a constant stream of outrage and entertainment. What's the actual price? Liberty.
Bread: Government subsidies and stomachs full of compliance seem to work too well! The U.S. government spends billions subsidizing the food industry. The subsidies aren't necessarily harmful, especially when you take into account the products they are supporting. Corn (and its syrup), soy, and wheat dominate. Healthy eating? Optional. Do cheap calories fuel Big Ag and Big Pharma? Guaranteed.
This trend isn’t accidental. It’s policy. And when people become reliant on the state for their next meal, freedom becomes negotiable. If you can't afford groceries without a government-issued debit card, you're unlikely to challenge the system that's providing for you, even if it's failing.
As the saying goes, the way to a person's liberty is through their stomach.
Bread and circus is nothing less than a political theater and manufactured consent.
Meanwhile, while Americans feast on inflation-buffered snacks and swipe through mental junk food, political theater keeps them distracted. From Capitol Hill cosplay to social media meltdowns, we’re given endless drama, memes, and moral outrage, none of which put food on the table or fix crumbling infrastructure.
This is where the modern “circus” thrives: not in coliseums, but on flat screens, mobile devices and smart phones.
As people tune in to the daily reality show of politics, their actual political power atrophies. It's a system engineered to distract, placate, and numb. Real issues, like surveillance, war budgets, or erosion of civil liberties, are buried under partisan food fights and identity feuds.
Enter: Zohran Mamdani—‘100% Communist Lunatic’ or Harbinger of the Bread Line?
President Trump wasted no time exposing newly victorious NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as a “100% Communist Lunatic” after Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary. Trump pulled no punches: “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous..
“He looks TERRIBLE… not very smart… backed by AOC+3… Even Cryin’ Chuck Schumer is groveling.”
But Mamdani isn’t just a lightning rod for MAGA fury; he’s a symbolic fulfillment of this bread-and-circus strategy. A self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Mamdani campaigns on housing guarantees, food justice, and expanded public services. The goal? Replace the old “pull-yourself-up” ethos with full-service statism.
Free housing. Free food. Free healthcare. Sounds familiar? It should. It’s the promise of communism repackaged in Brooklyn branding and avocado toast aesthetics. But as history shows, the check always comes due, and it’s usually paid in freedom.
Trump went further, mocking a future Democrat dream team: “Jasmine Crockett for President, AOC+3 for VP and Cabinet… Add in Zohran Mamdani as NYC’s Communist Mayor… and our country is really SCREWED!”
While satirical, the warning is clear: the political left is leaning harder into populism-by-handout, while the culture is increasingly tolerant of state-managed life. The circus has replaced the forum. The breadline has replaced the breadwinner.
America loses everything when it exchanges freedom for freebies! In a country where over 40 million Americans are on food assistance, and entire communities rely on government aid, how far are we from the full surrender of autonomy?
When America’s next meal depends on the political winds, We the People stop being citizens and become subjects. And the ruling class, whether draped in red or blue, knows this. That’s why the policies don’t change, just the ringmasters.
The facts are very clear: bread isn’t free, and neither is freedom. While bread and circuses may be sufficient to keep the masses submissive, the cost is in civic disengagement, personal responsibility, and liberty.
As New York edges toward its first self-proclaimed socialist mayor, and national politics devolve into meme wars and handouts, Americans should ask: Are we being fed… or fattened?
Final Word: The stomach may be full, but the soul of a free nation is starving.
Replies
Sadly, too many people will sell their liberty for a few "magic beans"!!!!! I am not one of them. I live on social security but I am not taking advantage of anyone, I paid into that political ponzi scheme, and my employers paid in as much as I did, so I would have something in my old age!!!!! If the political ruling class had done what was promised I would be living a comfortable life instead of scraping by day by day!!!!! But instead of providing for We the People the political ruling class chose to steal a lot of it and use the rest to buy votes and support illegal alien terrorists, drug dealers, rapists, and murderers!!!!!!!!!!
Steve, very well said! Scary and disgusting!
10/4 Bread & Circus always gets votes!
Steve, Excellent Article!!! This is what I have been talking about for over four decades... if the United States of America is to realize the Constitutional Dream of our founding fathers we must absolutely put an end to every single government welfare or other government managed cash to constituents program. First, we must put an immediate END to every single Welfare program in America. US Welfare programs are a MAGNET for ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION as well as encouraging able bodied people to leach off of the system. We will always have the lazy with us but we should definitely NOT subsidize laziness! This includes ending Medicaid and ObamaCare since they take individual responsibility away by allowing the individual to live in a way that they know is bad for them yet they know that the government will take care of their medical bills. This subsidizes BAD BEHAVIOUR, otherwise known as SIN! This is a major contributor to the falling societal rates of committing to a moral society!
The American Dream is based on self-reliance and living as God (YHWH) would have us to live. Taking money from the government, other than money earned by service to the government, leads to slavery to the government. We also must begin a process to phase out Social Security and Medicare because these programs have just provided a slush fund for our elected leaders to spend wrecklessly! Social Security and Medicare are Ponzi Schemes at this point because of government mismanagement, thus we need to end them and force the citizens to plan for their retirement. If parents know that they are going to be reliant upon their children to care for them in their old age, Parents would take a much greater interest in "RAISING" their children and training them in the tenets of the Word of the LORD!
If we want a more moral and responsible society with a govenrment that is responsive to We the People then we must put and end to all programs that enslave We the People to our Government!!!
Thank you. America has learned the truth but has New York?
COL, great comment, thanks for posting!
We made the headlines! https://canadafreepress.com/article/communizing-america-trading-lib... with a link back to the PCC
If this keeps up this great nation is done. What these idiots do not realize is once capitalism is gone they will never get it back.
Janet, so very true!