“A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” Gertrude Stein, poem Sacred Emily, 1913

Ninety years ago, Bolsheviks rid themselves of autocratic government in Russia by executing Czar Nicholas II. Of course, Vladimir I. Lenin replaced authoritarian government with a totalitarian state. Today, a former capitalist government can’t wait to create a slew of “czars,” which could be as disastrous as the Russian experiment.

So what’s a czar? According to the American Heritage dictionary, it’s a Slavic term for a monarch. Encyclopedia Britannica tells us that the term “czar” comes from the word “Caesar,” meaning emperor. The modern-day “Wikipedia” contends that it is increasingly used in English and American circles to mean a “high-level civil servant.” It’s also been used to label politicians with dictatorial powers, like a pre-impeachment President Andrew Johnson, according to the entry.

Nowadays, we seem to have more czars than cars in Washington, DC. I remember the George H. W. Bush administration creating a “drug czar” postion. But these truly mushroomed in the weak of the 9/11 attacks. Now we have a “terrorism czar,” a “cyberwar czar,” and a “war czar” to oversee conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Though many of these were created during Republican administrations, there’s every reason to believe that these are just as fashionable with Democrats. In an Associated Press article “Pelosi likes idea of ‘car czar’ to audit bailout” (written by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Ken Thomas) “The measure being The measure being discussed in Congress would put a government overseer named by President George W. Bush in charge of setting guidelines for an industrywide overhaul, with the power to revoke the loans if the automakers fail to do what’s necessary to become viable.

The White House was seeking tougher consequences, including allowing the overseer - being called a car czar - to force the companies into bankruptcy if they weren’t doing enough to cut labor costs, restructure their debt and downsize to stay afloat… The proposal gives the car czar say-so over any major business decisions by the automakers while they’re taking advantage of federal aid. The companies would have to open their books to the government, including informing the overseer of any transaction of $25 million or more.”

Expect the trend to continue under the Obama Administration. In the Congressional Quarterly article “Obama’s Energy-Environment Team Likely To Be Named Next,” by Coral Davenport, “Also possible is the announcement of a new White House office of energy or climate change…The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank which is advising the Obama transition, has recommended the creation of such a council, headed by a White House-level energy or climate czar.”

Perhaps Republicans and Democrats do want a stronger “czar-like” government. But they should do so at their own peril. For when the czar fails, something far crueler could be lurking around the corner, as it was back in 1918.

Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose…By any other name would smell as sweet.” (William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2))