The Ides of March?

“Beware the Ideas of March,” wrote Shakespeare in Act 1, Scene 2 of his famous play “Julius Caesar,” a “soothsayer’s” warning to the dictator before his assassination, March 15, 44 BC. Wind the clock ahead 2070 years; we are in that week. Does the “Ides of March” mean bad luck? Hardly.

In the 400 years since Shakespeare’s play was published, the phrase has taken on its own life, folks cheerfully ribbing each other about it. Like black cats, the thing is folly – but accountability is not.

Shakespeare – that wise, old sage – used fiction to punctuate fact. The play and phrase speak to those who abuse power, to what history teaches, and to the basic idea that choices matter.

In truth, the “Ides of March” was a mid-month marker – 13^th in most Roman months, 15^th for March, May, July, and October.  In the original calendar, the “Ides” was the first full moon of the new year.

All this aside, humanity elevates convenient superstitions, such as not walking under ladders, wariness on Friday the 13^th (just over), and spilled salt over one’s shoulder. Wrote Voltaire, “Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy, the mad daughter of a wise mother,” while Francis Bacon – fittingly – said: “The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.”

If you want to know what happens in the second half of March, a look back gives a fair view. While bad stuff happened on or after the “Ides of March,” so did a lot of good stuff.

Patrick Henry gave his famous “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech on March 23, 1775; the British evacuated Boston on March 18, 1776, and of course, St. Patrick’s Day is March 17.

Closer to our own time, the telephone was invented in March 1876; Albert Einstein was born in March 1879; the Americans won the decisive battle at Iwo Jima on March 26, 1945; and the 1974 Arab Oil Embargo ended on March 18. The list, of course, is long.

What the “Ides of March” signifies is not bad luck or folly, but three abiding principles – true in 44 BC, in 1623 when “Julius Caesar” was released, and today – abuse of power is never without consequences, history is a great teacher, and choices always matter. Had Caesar not abused trust, been a better student of history, and been humble – we would never remember March 15, 44 BC.

We Americans, traditionally, demand accountability of our government – not with violence but at the ballot box. We respect our history and the arc of history. We seek leaders who are seasoned, strong, and reflective, yet humble.

So, a better way to reflect on the “Ides of March” is to revalue trust, history, and humility. They count – always have, always will—one more thing. If you are from Maine, you may recall another good thing that happened on this day. On March 15, 1820, the “Ides of March,” Maine became a state!

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!