On May 29 1453 Emperor Constantine XI was killed by the Turks when the city of Constantinople was overrun by the invading army.
Wars at the time were brutal and lands exchanged hands many times over in the course of months and years. But what this has to do with the Dao. How the fall of Constantinople and the death of Emperor Constantine XI related in any way to the Dao.
To put this into perspective I have to take you to the day of the battle, that nice Spring day of May the Byzantine senate convened to discuss some very important issues, no the issues at hand were not the Turks invading the city and the walls getting compromised by the invading army. The issues that they convened to discuss were as follows, "Are the Angels males or females, and how big was the devil, was he a small creature or a huge one!"
This Byzantine debate taking place at a time of crises, cost Emperor Constantine XI his life, his army was crushed and the city of Constantinople crashed and burned. The Emperor tried in vain to turn the senate discussion into how to defend the city from the invaders, the Senate however, decided the "moral" issues they were discussing are far more important.
The Emperor rallied whatever was left of his troops and made a last ditch effort to save the city, that cost him his life and the lives of his troops. A noble effort given the fact he was offered amnesty by the invaders if he chooses not to fight.
Back to the DAO, today a debate is taking place, the Byzantine senate has convened, on the agenda are the following topics, " Is the hack theft or feature, is the code law, is it moral to take back the stolen ether from the thief, did the thief commit a crime, is it a crime to take back the stolen property, should we fork, should we not fork, ... the list goes on"
While this Byzantine debate is taking place the city is in a crash and burn situation, Vitalik Buterin is not in a much better situation than emperor Constantine XI, for now he is trying to convince the Senate to face up to the crisis, the Senate has a better moral obligation right now from the looming crisis, they need to know if it is moral to take back what the thief has stolen.
Vitalik Buterin rallying the troops and making a charge might come in at any time, but will it be too late then because he is too busy now rallying the Senate? The debate is costing ethereum and the DAO a lot more than the theft itself, at one point the Senate might actually stop the debate altogether because the stolen property is no longer holding any value at all.
If emperor Constantine XI, on that spring day of May, spent his final hours taking the lead taking actions and rallying the troops rather than convincing the Byzantine Senate to come into agreement, those final hours might not have been his last, he might have actually saved the city.
At a time of crisis leaders lead, they do not debate. Are we better off debating while the fire is raging and the flames are taking hold of everything that is valuable? or should the fire be put off and the debate is done afterwards, when the city is sound and safe.
I have to say I was never a fan of the DAO, and this debate taking place now has only enforced my stance. The mere discussion of letting someone walk away with $55 million heist is adding fuel to the fire, and reason enough for me to believe the people working on Ethereum lost their compass.
Looking at the market now, to fork or not to fork will not be a valid question we can ask for a much longer time. The walls have been compromised The DAO and Ethereum are in crisis, what is far more important than finding out if the "Angels are males or females", this is the best time to debate that, why not add it to the agenda of today's discussions on how to resolve the crisis with the DAO.