Rome is Burning

This is one of our favorite pastimes here in modern America. In fact, not only are we ignoring history, we are working hard to erase history. The actual saying is “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. That’s the road we are heading down and at a pretty solid clip.

There are volumes and volumes written about the fall of Rome. One of the most expansive and modern empires fell because it was decaying from the inside out. While there were certainly some external factors (Goths and Huns) that impacted the fall of Rome, most of what destroyed Rome was contained inside of Rome itself.

I’ve read bits and pieces over the years about what caused the fall of Rome. I am by no means an expert on the subject. I know enough about it to understand there are a number of factors that modern historians agree were the most significant factors that contributed to the fall of the empire. The parallels you can draw between the fall of Rome and the challenges we are currently experiencing in the United States are startling. In fact, they are scary.

After fighting multiple wars, the Roman army was in rapid decline in personnel and quality. Our military is in the same state. We just missed our recruiting goals. We will likely miss them again in 2023. We just finished fighting in Iraq (sort of) and Afghanistan and there has been a significant exodus of experienced servicemembers in the years that followed. Our current policies and defense spending, as well as a lack of global strategy to meet our greatest threats, is leaving our military in disarray.

As Rome declined, so did the health and numbers of the population. We are currently in a population decline (post baby-boom) and our overall health is atrocious. Fast food, lack of exercise, a sedentary lifestyle, and dependency on electronics are quickly degrading our overall health. As a people, we are less capable of physical labor and meeting the physical demands required to serve in our own military. It is undeniable.

The strength of the Roman economy was also declining. As the Roman leadership lost control of trade and other empires began to grow, coupled with the declining health and numbers in the population, Rome could no longer sustain itself economically. As we continue our reliance on foreign oil, international trade, cheaper international labor, and our desire for “more stuff” grows, our economy is collapsing. Gas prices, food prices, prices for goods, and taxes are all on the rise while the overall value of our currency is in decline. This does not bode well for us.

Internal politics was also a significant contributor. Shitty leadership, including incompetent Emperors, political infighting, and a decreased ability to maintain their infrastructure all ate away at the heart of the empire. Does that sound familiar? You could argue we haven’t had competent leadership since possibly 1986 when President Regan began his mental decline. You may argue it started before that (Jimmy Carter, ahem). The absolute divide we are experiencing between Red and Blue are possibly at an all time high. Very few politicians are trying to sway “the middle” and are mostly pandering to people that are already in their camp, driving a deeper wedge between Americans. Our infrastructure like bridges, roads, railroads, ports, and airports is expensive and slowly becoming unsustainable.

Some experts argue that changes in religious views also contributed to the fall of the empire. Whether they did or not is up for argument, however, for those that agree with that statement you could argue that the religious values that were built into the foundation of this country are under fire. It isn’t difficult to see the constant attacks on Christian values our founding fathers embraced and prioritized when they established this nation. Whether you agree with those principles or not, they are what our country was built on and that foundation is crumbling.

As I said, the parallels are hard to miss, unless you are turning a blind eye to history. Or, you are not learning history. Or you are trying rewrite history.

Regardless….Rome is Burning.