Drawing parallels between modern and ancient times is risky, but necessary. If we fail to glean any bits of constructive history from the past we are indeed condemned to repeat the failures of societies past. Here a a few things that strike me as obvious (I'm not that complicated) compared to how Rome dismantled itself and allowed Western civilization to wander in the wilderness for a few hundred years.
After watching most of the DNC, I heard very few references to the poor. I heard nothing about the disease of drug abuse raging across all levels of our society. I heard nothing about applying ideas like the Civilian Conservation Corps or the Marshall Plan to our inner cities to overcome gangs and the wholesale slaughter of our citizens by their own hands (gangs).
It begs the question: Have we become just a land of lotus eaters that tacitly ignore those who aren't snapping open another Bud Light, or who pay big money to go to football games, build more stadiums, cluck more tongues and killings along our southern border? What the hell ARE we doing with our freedoms and our country? Why aren't we screaming bloody murder about the Patriot Act taking away the 4th Amendment? Do you mind if Big Brother listens in while you yammer on your cell phone about everything?
Politically, a very good book by Mike Lofgren, "The Party's Over", explains much about how things are politically. He was a Republican staffer in Congress for over 30 years and flays both parties for allowing our government to become servile to the lobbyists. As well he should. WE THE PEOPLE have allowed this to happen. We took the money instead of standing up for ourselves (See Chris Hedges' book, "The Death of the Liberal Class".). We forgot the infamous Lewis Powell memo calling for corporate/banking America to go forth as a united front and buy the government. Well, they've just about done it, haven't "they"?
As a nation, we use more illegal substances per capita than any other. I'm not talking about just MJ. That is no longer the cash cow crop for the drug industries south of our borders. No. Now it's about stuff that is man-made, cheap and ever so readily available. Has anyone asked, "Who are the customers? "Why is there so much demand? Where do the billions and billions of dollars come from to support international drug crime rings?" No. Nobody asks those questions.
Our gun and ammunition industry sells more guns and ammo to more people, legal or otherwise, than all other weapons manufacturing nations combined. The "Fast and Furious" episode was promulgated by our own laws saying it is illegal to trace guns once they've been sold privately. Be sure to send a thank you card to the NRA for that.
So, we have an extremely high percentage of our people using drugs, alcohol(legal until you kill somebody driving drunk) and death by gun. Yes, we're exceptional, alright. We lead the world in these categories. We have plunged to 37th in education, 29th in overall health (No shit. How many recovering addicts do we maintain?) and are falling fast in manufactured goods. Does this mean that our citizens will be just a bunch of ignorant, unemployed, drug-addled cretins who will follow anyone to their next fix or load? Does everyone have to be armed to the teeth to defend ourselves against our fellow citizen? We kill more people ourselves by gun than they do in Afghanistan, a war zone.
I'm sure I'll get flamed by the gun lovers, the drug lovers and those who think that it can't happen here. But it IS happening here. The Roman Coliseum was built around 70 A.D., but it took another 200 years of using human combat as the main entertainment before the ignored infrastructure finally crumbled and allowed Western civilization to wander in the wilderness for another few hundred years while massive killing occurred across Europe. I'm certainly not advocating that Rome was perfect, but they did build some very neat things and educated people to several orders of magnitude over the rest of the world. For their time they were a technological marvel that exceeded Egypt independently.
So, what do YOU do on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon between August and February? That's right. You and I watch football at all the levels. We watch our modern day gladiators beat the living shit out of one another while we cheer lustily. For those who find football too tame for their blood lusts, there's always Cage Fighting or Ultimate Fighting..."sports" where one person beats the living shit out of another while the crowds cheer lustily. Civilized behavior. No doubt. Check out who sponsors those programs. You have some of it in your home.
Did anyone ask why we use so many drugs that everyone knows are funding armies of criminals in so many other countries that it prevents those countries from spending their money on the GOOD citizens instead of trying to slow down OUR drug habits? How else does one describe decadence? Multi-billions of dollars manufacturing and trafficking drugs means we are USING at record levels. It's probably less than 40% of our citizens supplying 90% of the revenue to the drug world. 40%. Two in five. On drugs. Spending their disposable income on drugs instead of food, schooling or personal maintenance. Amazing.
What's it like being a parent with kids who are stoned? Do they even notice? Do they care? Does a stoned kid keep quiet so as not interfere with the parents' TV programs? Why are some parents surprised when it's THEIR kid who gets busted for drugs? Did they do anything to educate the kid about drug use, or did they just say "NO"? I'd suggest that it's not all the parents' fault. The economy over the last 30 years, or so has required parents to work either as both parents working or single parents working multiple jobs in order to feed the maw of capitalism. It doesn't excuse the kid from trying and using drugs, but it does create more opportunity for young people to escape into their own worlds of immature judgement.
Yes, we are paralleling Rome. It is not just that our chariots are bigger, move faster and cost more, is it? Well, it's off to the Coliseum to watch another mortal combat enactment. Oh. Wait. I've got to call my bookie and place $100 on that college game played by amateurs with an over and under of 7. Can't forget those jackpots.....