Is is fair to Compare Ancient Rome to present day America?
There are many books on the subject, such as: Morris Berman (Dark Ages America) Cullen Murphy(Are We Rome) among many others. My real question is: In saying America is a present day empire, due to forcing it's way of living on other countries and cultures, and mabey the rise of inflation etc. Is is fair to compare an ancient society with one of the present day? Andy why? Your thoughts please?
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I think that history may repeat itself, but at the same time, it's a very different world than it was during the heyday of the Roman empire.
Comparing the USA too Rome is stretching it a bit. The Romans where way smarter. The USA is an empire because it was formed through conquest mainly Indians but they also took land from Mexico and British north America by force. Empires have growth and decay cycles so while comparing Rome too the USA is a bad idea the trends across multiple empires is enlightening. The USA is corrupt, over confident and losing citizen support it's one step a way from a dictatorship.
The link to Rome is different from what most authors suppose. Rome was re-made under Gaius Marius in order to respond to a horrible external military threat. As a result of the war, some people became obscenely wealthy, so wealthy, in fact, that they viewed the government as a tool to make themselves even richer. Ultimately, those plutocrats seized the government and indicted those very few politicians who were trying to restore the rights of the people. In the end, the plutocrats murdered the one politician who stood up for the peoples rights, resulting in a military dictatorship.
The danger is real. The lesson is there. And most Americans will target lock on the togas and sex and the problem is that they are as stupid as the Roman sheep who let their government--the only free country in the ancient world--be perverted in the name of wealth and power.
Ancient Rome provided the basis on which the modern world is build and as such is used as a gold standard on which all powerful governments are judged. Comparing a nation to Rome is like comparing a genuis to Einstein. It is simply a way to measure greatness, and not a direct item by item comparison
I believe the US is falling into many of the same traps that the Romans did. The following link is a good editorial describing this better than I can. It is an interesting read.
Fairness? Publish or Perish? Political commentary? The question is are the parallels valid. Sub-question do you agree with them. Can we compare US with Fascist Spain or Italy and would it be fair?
Is it fair to compare US 2007 with US 1873 (How the West was Won)?
No. Rome conquered lands and then stayed. America never stays and takes over the land and makes it an extension of America. Rome also had killer TOGA parties with scantly clad women. We have those to but the feminists complain. There were no feminists in Rome.
I think its an easy way to vilify America, and empower the true evil in the world. American is not perfect, i don't think it ever will be, but it really is the greatest country in the world. Just ask all the people who are immigrating to the US
America is rotting from the inside out, so too did Rome. So, yes...
no...................speed of information, technology, education, belief in equality and humanity(even if we have a way to go)
and finally........weapons...which have effects that alter the world permanently as we know it.
the few parallels that people see between us and them are superficial and mainly for entertainment purposes.