Posted on 06/30/2013 3:29:01 PM PDT by drewh
By A.D. 200, the Roman republic was a distant memory. Few citizens of the global Roman Empire even knew of their illustrious ancestors such as Scipio or Cicero. Millions no longer spoke Latin. Italian emperors were rare. There were no national elections.
Yet Rome endured as a global power for three more centuries. What held it together?
A stubborn common popular culture and the prosperity of Mediterranean-wide standardization kept things going. The Egyptian, the Numidian, the Iberian and the Greek assumed that everything from Roman clay lamps and glass to good roads and plentiful grain were available to millions throughout the Mediterranean.
As long as the sea was free of pirates, thieves cleared from the roads, and merchants allowed to profit, few cared whether the lawless Caracalla or the unhinged Elagabalus was emperor in distant Rome.
Something likewise both depressing and encouraging is happening to the United States. Few Americans seem to worry that our leaders have lied to or misled Congress and the American people without consequences.
Most young people cannot distinguish the First Amendment from the Fourth Amendment — and do not worry that they cannot. Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln are mere names of grammar schools but otherwise unidentifiable to most.
Separatism is thought to bring dividends. In California, universities conduct separate graduation ceremonies predicated on race — sometimes difficult given the increasingly mixed ancestry of Americans.
As in Rome, there is a vast disconnect between elites and the common people. Almost half of Americans receive some sort of public assistance, and half pay no federal income tax. About one-seventh of Americans are on food stamps.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Between the Mexican invasion and the Muslim usurpation, I give us until 2020 as a sovereign nation..
Successful barbarian invasions are a symptom, not a cause.
If Rome was strong, the Empire would still be in existence in its initial form.
Even Caracalla’s Edict was a symptom of monetary collapse.
Look beyond the superficial.
The first rule everyone should learn immediately after high school: money rules; everything else is blah blah blah.
A nasty career in Big Pharma taught me that rule, and eight years of university studies only reinforced it.
Yes, it's coasting on fumes for now. But the world changes faster now than it did back during the time of the Roman Empire. The sharp fall is right around the corner.
Absolutely correct.
And America’s now too far gone to come back, IMO.
The citizens wanted the Marxist Obama but they got Lenin redux and now we’re ALL headed for USSR circa 1930’s.
FOLLOWING?? More like being lead.
The US is already balkanized. Some areas can recover as new nations. We should be supporting those areas. The US is already hopelessly divided.
>>>An apt comparison. The decline of Rome can be attributed largely to the “Barbarian” invasions. How history repeats itself, eh?<<<
The movement of Germanic peoples into (western) Roman territory took place the same way that third world peoples are moving into the United States. Families would just cross the Rhine and move into the empire and settle down. The strong borders seen in the construction of monuments like Hadrian’s Wall in Britain lapsed into disuse and a lack of concern by the Romans themselves. Eventually, there were large populations of migrants throughout the Empire, which Rome itself was too feeble to deal with. The wholesale movement of armies leading to the sack of Rome in 476 was the last stage of this long process.
Which appears to be what is happening right now. When people tell me that there are 11 million illegal migrants in the United States, I always think that 11 million people wandering into any other country on this planet would be called “an invasion.”
God help us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.