The decline and fall of the United States

[Puglover]

http://killeenroos.com/1/Romefall.htm

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Each one intertwined with the next. Many even blame the introduction of Christianity for the decline. Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era.

Decline in Morals and Values

Those morals and values that kept together the Roman legions and thus the empire could not be maintained towards the end of the empire. Crimes of violence made the streets of the larger cities unsafe. Even during PaxRomana there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and drank until they became ill. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. These were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on.

Public Health

There were many public health and environmental problems. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their homes through lead pipes. Previously the aqueducts had even purified the water but at the end lead pipes were thought to be preferable. The wealthy death rate was very high. The continuous interaction of people at the Colosseum, the blood and death probable spread disease. Those who lived on the streets in continuous contact allowed for an uninterrupted strain of disease much like the homeless in the poorer run shelters of today. Alcohol use increased as well adding to the incompetency of the general public.

Political Corruption

One of the most difficult problems was choosing a new emperor. Unlike Greece where transition may not have been smooth but was at least consistent, the Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's's private army), and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became more influential, perpetuating the cycle. Then in 186 A. D. the army strangled the new emperor, the practice began of selling the throne to the highest bidder. During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination. This contributed to the overall weaknesses of the empire.

Unemployment

During the latter years of the empire farming was done on large estates called latifundia that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor. A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply. Many farmers could not compete with these low prices and lost or sold their farms. This not only undermined the citizen farmer who passed his values to his family, but also filled the cities with unemployed people. At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 people in Rome alone. These people were not only a burden but also had little to do but cause trouble and contribute to an ever increasing crime rate.

Inflation

This is a great little read and quite chilling. Please tell me if there is ONE of the reasons that isn't evident right now in the US.

Jeff

PS The last reason "Military Spending" was spot on IMHO.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. I'm more hopeful

Because I have seen everything on this list at many other times in our history.

But if the barbarians come down out of Canada we're screwed.

[Puglover]

2. ROFL Granny...n/t

[damntexdem]

3. One can search for the cracks in the U.S. pedestal.

But it drives me crazy when 'experts' claiming reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire cite events and trends that occurred centuries before its fall. For example, the Imperial successions around 200 AD likely had little to do with the fall nearly three centuries later. It's especially silly when they combine 'causes' that predate the ascendance of Christianity with 'causes' from after that change.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. But you know what? I enjoy watching Rome

(the HBO series) and I don't know how true to life it is, but they had very different "takes" on many things. Sex, for example, appeared to be rather a spectator sport, with people engaging in a bit of fun with this or that person seated near the bed... a servant, the daugther of the house. And giving a man with a huge penis as a social gift... well, you don't see THAT in the Junior League anymore, huh?

[melody]

5. The Empire may fade, but America won't go away

The people here comprise America. Though our enemies both foreign and domestic may be celebrating our collapse, others have done that lots of times before. It'll fail now like it failed then.