Politics
What Leonidas can teach Bartlett
The phrase a line in the sand is a metaphor for a point beyond which no further advance will be made, or in the alternative a point beyond which, if crossed, the decision to cross results in irreversible consequences.
Ancient Spartan leader Leonidas were said to have drawn a ‘line in the sand’ during their defence of Greece in the Battle of Thermopylae.
Colonel William Travis (having chosen to die instead of surrender) reportedly pulled his battle sword, drew a line in the sand of the Alamo, and asked for volunteers to cross over the line and join him, understanding their decision would be irreversible.
It is plain that in both cases, those who drew ‘lines in the sand’ ended up annihilated. I do hope David Bartlett is aware of the significance of his many ‘lines in the sand’ and gives up on this phrase, before he tempts the fates and leads his party the defeat it so richly deserves.
John Ward
Gordon