The Fall of the American Empire

Ok people, Food for thought for a change. Although it’s been pointed out by so many, I can’t stop thinking about the Fall of the American Empire. The problems in modern day America parallel very closely the problems during the Fall of the Roman Empire. So closely and carefully, it’s mostly hard to ignore. For those who don’t know, I think it’s time to enlighten. (By the way, who do you think will be in the next draft for World Power? My bid’s on China.)

1)Public Health During the decline of the Roman Empire, the Romans were experiencing serious environmental problems and health problems. (Many of the environmental factors obviously contributed to human health) In this sense, the comparison is easy (although, it is in so many other areas, too.) We’re the only industrialized country without government healthcare. We have more children on the street and in impoverished homes (ie, living below the poverty level) than any other industrialized nation, also. As far as environmentally, we’re only too happy to tear down the trees around us and put up parking lots, not to mention the pig shit geysers in the middle of the US. (Small time pig farmers gave way to larger, more industrialized pig farming after Bush passed some less strict environmental laws. Small time pig farmers were able to use the pig crap for fertilizer, but company owned farms put the pig shit into huge vats with thinly lined plastic that allows the poo to seep into the Earth, and thusly peoples drinking water. Yum. Not to mention the shit that sprays forth when it gets warm out. or the stench for miles around.) It’s obvious we’re not to keen on taking good care of our people or environment.

2) Political Corruption Another major pitfall of the Roman Empire was the inherent political corruption. Eventually, the Emporer was decided by whoever bid the most for the seat. Although it’s rather hard to avoid in any government, America is certainly not lacking in this area. Especially under Bush, the ties to Big Business and the benefits passed for big business are undeniable, even to the most naive observer. It’s not merely a coincidence that so many of our uppers are also uppers in huge businesses which profit from things like invading Iraq. (Bush put more money into Government Defense stocks right before invading Iraq. Hmmm… Oddly, they shot up afterwards. Who’d’a thunk it?!) Paralleling the Roman Empire, it seems whoever has the biggest big business ties these days takes office.

3) Unemployment Going hand in hand with health issues, people without jobs in this country can’t get doctors. In the Roman Empire, many small time farmers were forced to sell their farms because they could not compete with the low prices of of farms owned by wealthy men who could use slave labor, and thusly sell their crops for cheaper. Sound like pig shit geysers to anyone?

4) INFLATION Even if you’re five, you can’t deny that you’ve noticed that things are so expensive now, from gas, to goods, to produce. Things are costing more now; end of story… and wages aren’t really going up much. Things are getting more expensive, and much like in the Roman Empire, there are too many bills and not enough gold. Really though, you can’t deny inflation. It’s 1.50 for a 20 oz pop some places!

5) Military spending The war on “terror” is costing Americans billions of dollars that we do not have. The Roman Empire had a huge mass of money spent on defending the borders of the Empire. Eventually, many soldiers lost their will to fight for the Empire. (This can be seen in America back into the 60’s, and especially in the 60’s… and possibly again if a draft is instated. Draft dodging.) Another well-known and undeniable fact is that America is spending immense amounts of money to wage a war on an inanimate object. Under this same pretense, The Roman Empire engaged in wars it couldn’t win. Under this pretext, it not only spent too much money, but over burdened itself in taking off more than it could chew in its later years. Similarly, this War on “Terror” is something that cannot be won. What I find superbly amusing is that people take this title seriously. If I said “War on Pie Tins” people would just look at me confusedly and wonder why I’d declare war on something that doesn’t fight back. You can’t ever eradicate terror or terrorism. To eradicate it would mean world domination, and it would still happen within your borders. Terrorism is a means of making people notice you. Whether it’s good or bad isn’t the discussion, but people will always want to be noticed for their cause.

In the end, I think these points in addition to others I didn’t cover give a pretty good semblance of how paralleled the two Empires are. And please folks, don’t forget history repeats itself. But fear not my pretties, there’s always Canada.

Always
Afton

oh yea, and it’s my BIRTHDAY! 🙂