Perhaps it is time to include a new ritual in the ceremony when we formally install the President or another who holds high public office.
The Roman custom of the Triumphus provides a secular model. The victorious general, parading through Rome, was elevated to near-divine status—a moment of dangerous, unchecked adulation. The slave placed in the chariot, uttering the phrase, “Memento homo” (“Remember you are a man”), served as an intentional, disruptive counterpoint. His role was not merely to remind the leader of death, but of his transient, mortal nature—a critical check on the belief that personal glory supersedes the state or the gods. It was a societal safeguard designed to protect the republic from the ego of the individual.
This historical check finds its spiritual analogue in the directive found in Matthew 23:11: “The greatest among you will be your servant.” In this context, Christ inverts the traditional hierarchy. True greatness is redefined not by the acquisition of power, wealth, or authority, but by the voluntary divestment of self-interest in favor of devotion to others. For a public leader, this passage transforms the office from a platform for ambition into a mantle of obligation. The leader’s personal needs, desires, and historical legacy must be secondary to the needs of the constituents.
The proposed modern ritual, therefore, should be a synthesis of both the Roman and the Matthean principles. It could be implemented not as a critique of a leader’s mortality, but as a solemn, public reaffirmation of their constitutional and moral servitude. Imagine a moment during the Inauguration where a representative of the public—perhaps a distinguished citizen—approaches the new leader and whispers, or reads, an Oath of Subordination.
The message: “Remember the authority of this office is loaned, not owned. The honor you receive belongs to the people you are sworn to serve. You are the servant of all.” This ritual would serve two critical functions. First, it would provide an inescapable moment of internal reflection for the leader, grounding them in their duty. Second, it would publicly define the expectations of the office for the citizenry. By witnessing the reminder, the people are empowered to hold their leader accountable not as a monarch or a celebrity, but as an administrator whose sole purpose is focused outwardly, away from self-interest, and towards the common good. Such a ritual transforms humility from a private virtue into an institutional requirement.
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