Posted on 05/20/2019 7:19:12 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
You are being simplistic - out of your “libertarian” bias, I conjecture.
Rome still had a martial code and great discipline in that earlier period. This culture is losing that, as did The Roman Empire.
Nations have lifespans. By the time Christianity became dominant, the natural decay of that country had set in.
Western Civilization would not have existed, and would not have produced the USA, without Biblical Christianity.
P.S.
It is A.D. (Anno Domini) 69, not 69 A.D.: In the Year of the/Our Lord 69, not 69 in the Year of the/Our Lord. (In A.D. 1969, Zager & Evans did not sing “2525 in the Year” in their hit song.)
“Never in the history of civilization had a generation become so wealthy and leisured, so eager to gratify every conceivable appetite—and yet so bored and unhappy.”
We are suffering from the same disease as Rome - AFFLUENZA.
bkmk
Mike will be interested in this.
Jeane Dixon has already “passed on”. Let’s hope you don’t “pass on” for a while and remain healthy,
Back in the ‘60s a history teacher said that the dole was the beginning of the end for them....
History does not repeat itself. It can resemble itself, but it never repeats.
Rome was not a predominantly Christian nation until its decline started. Some historians ascribe Rome’s decline to Christianity-—pacifism for example drained the ranks of the Roman army.
Slavery became a major issue as well. Small farmers can never compete with slave owners.
I see major differences: Rome was not built on common law, or a Protestant, bottom up religious tradition, or private property with written titles and deeds, or capitalism, the four pillars of American exceptionalism.
Where I do see a danger is the Roman indecision in Germanic immigration. They couldn’t decide if they wanted to let the Germans in and make them citizens, or build walls and keep them out. So they really did neither effectively. Also, it didn’t help that they had a string of truly insane leaders.
Rome’s decline started long before Christianity had an impact.
your first sentence was incorrect so that’s as far as I will comment about me perviously being libertarian as if that has any significance except to let you take apersonal shot; except I will say.
I stand by my comments and my education and subsequent reading and the historical record with which I am very familiar. There are references on this thread about Roman immorality despite the codes and Augustus’s attempt to be righteous. Are you saying the three emperors I cited lead a moral empire? That is ridiculous.
Your comment about christianity doesn’t explain how Rome fell when it was christian and not when it was far less moral. So what does morality have to do with empire. That’s what is being discussed. That is the basis for this thread and it makes the basic assumptions above wrong as is the usual stereotype of Rome falling because it was immoral.
Please explain the lifespan of nations and how that is a factor rather than what is happening with the nation. Demographics, over expansion, etc
What is the life span of Greece or Egypt, or China or the US or Spain or.........?
There were a lot of reason why Rome fell but the primary reason is it never solved the change of government problem.
Augustus’s ascension was a military coup as was every following emperor change. Either a violent coup with more then one contending - civil war or something relatively benign with behind the scene backstabbing’s both real & figurative.
But it sure does rhyme.
You doubt that’s what’s going to happen here.
Elections are a sham already as it is, and once people lose confidence in the electoral process, Katy bar the door.
This column is among his best.
That’s pretty much what happened to the Roman Republic. Election competition got so contentious and violent, the factions could no longer accept gracious defeat. Basically because the loser not just lost the election but was judicially driven into to exile or murdered. People just lost faith in their governing institutions. Yes you are seeing the beginnings of it here. Will are different factions start arming themselves? Or use whatever brief periods of power they may hold to disarm the other factions? (I think we are seeing attempts at this!)
Read: Rubicon Last Years Roman Republic
BFLR
disagree with your first comment the rest not so much.
The rise of Octavian is clearly known. He also tried to be a moral leader. one of his rulings was trying to eliminate adultery,.
VDH does a good job based on a single main source. But also there are things like how selling Roman Citizenship which became essential for the imperial cash-flow and the resulting devaluation of said citizenship impacted the Empire is very similar to today as well.
For me, picking the best of his work is a rather daunting task. 8>) This was definitely a very good one though, that I will concede to.
Well, such folks had better be careful, because unless a WH occupant is forcibly deposed because he is a homicidal tyrant — like Hitler, Stalin, and so on —, I (and millions of others, no doubt) will consider the successor to be entirely illegitimate. Things will not be good for that successor.
Yes, we’re basically selling resident visas (green cards) to any foreigner who can bring serious money into the country.
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