If a student of history were to research the rise and fall of
civilizations they would no doubt study Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire
. After a promising start as a Republic the Romans would
embrace militarism, slavery and dictatorship in which to maintain and
expand
their empire. The Patricians, the wealthy Romans whose greed and
thirst for power was unquenchable, were in constant conflict with the
common man. Both groups' interests were heard and debated in the Roman
Senate, but eventually the wealthy prevailed, the farmers losing
their land to the wealthy landowners and a system of slavery imposed in
their stead.
Although the Roman Senate was still meeting during the days
of the Empire it was largely a rubber stamp with no real authority. The
Roman economy, top heavy with multitudes of slaves working only for the
benefit of the wealthy, collapsed. The Roman military, decimated by
continuous wars of conquest, occupation, and a series of destructive
civil wars, became weak and ineffective, unable to prevent the incursion
of the barbarian hordes.
The decline of the Roman Empire began, as any
student of history can tell you, when the balance of power swung to the
advantage of the wealthy Patricians, who undermined the common free man
by establishing an economy based upon cheap labor, in this
Although America still retains a Senate, it is no less a rubber stamp than that of the Roman Senate under the Emperors.
All important decisions are made behind closed doors, without any input from the people or their alleged representatives.
Elections have become a fraud and any opposition to the status quo will put the average citizen into conflict with any one of the numerous anti-terrorist legislation now on the books.
case slavery.
As the slave society increased in size the only alternative for the
growing numbers of disenfranchised freemen, small landowners, farmers,
laborers, unable to compete in the slave economy, was to enlist in the
legions, and through further military conquests which they contributed to,
ensured a steady supply of slaves and loot for the wealthy, a vicious
cycle which perpetuated the slave state and the continued undermining of
a free and prosperous society.
Altough a multitude of differences
exist between ill-fated ancient Rome and today's America and the World, there are also many
similarities which cannot be ignored. The
most glaring example has been the swing of power and wealth into the
hands of the wealthy few at the cost of the majority, made possible by
the capitulation of what used to be freely elected governments, whose
Senates and Parliaments have abdicated their responsibility to the
majority of its citizens in favor of the wealthy few. We also see the
undermining of organized labor with a modern day economic system of
quasi slavery, that of outsourcing labor to nations whose downtrodden
workers are exploited, forced to work long hours in unclean, unsafe, and
deplorable conditions for wages which remain at poverty level. And, as
was practice in the Roman Empire, the importation of slave labor, in
this case the mass emigration of millions of impoverished illegals into
the United States, whose labor is exploited by the wealthy at a fraction
of the cost to that of its legal citizens and to that of organized
labor. All this creates a race to the bottom of the pay
scale, with all workers, citizen and non citizen alike, becoming quasi-slaves to the wealthy capitalist class whose thirst for wealth and power
is no different than their Patrician forebears in the Roman Empire.
Next, the use of American military power of today differs little from
that of ancient Rome, which now as then is being used to secure through
brute force the land and resources of their neighbors which we are seeing in
Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and most recently the abortive land grab
of South Osettia in the oil rich Caspian Sea region by the US/Israeli
client state, Georgia.
And we should take note that the great majority
of American military personnel fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, like the
landless Roman farmers, come mostly from the disenfranchised members of
American society who have lost their economic base to outsourcing and
illegal immigration. Also filling the ranks are illegal immigrants
themselves whose hope it is to have US citizenship bestowed upon them, a
practice comparable to the foreign auxiliaries, Gauls, Germans, Dacians,
and Parthians serving with the Roman Legions. We also cannot mistake the
building boom of new sports stadiums across the United States for what
is doubtless becoming a modern version of the bread and circuses of
ancient Rome, a tried and proven tactic to keep the minds of the people
distracted from what really matters.
But perhaps the most threatening
and sinister comparison to Imperial Rome is the imposition of a
dictatorship. Although America still retains a Senate, it is no less a
rubber stamp than that of the Roman Senate under the Emperors. All
important decisions are made behind closed doors, without any input from
the people or their alleged representatives. Elections have become a fraud and any opposition to the
status quo will put the average citizen into conflict with any one of
the numerous anti-terrorist legislation now on the books.
In addition to the
above-mentioned similarities to the Roman Empire, the US is
showing the same signs of failure, although at a much faster pace.
Whereas it took Imperial Rome hundreds of years before its final
collapse, it is occurring at a fraction of the time in modern day
America and the World. The great banks and financial institutions which
had become household names for a hundred years or more are failing at a
rate reminiscent of the Great Depression. Glaring military failure and
impotence in the face of third-rate opponents, hyper-inflation,
personal bankruptcy, trade imbalance and government debt in the
trillions of dollars, all highlighting the failure of a
wealthy capitalist class, who like their predecessors in Roman
times have once again sacrificed a healthy Republic for a failed
empire.
Comment: (9/16/2008) Excellent article. One paragraph I'll cite for example below:
"In addition to the above-mentioned similarities to the Roman Empire, the US is showing the same signs of failure, although at a much faster pace. Whereas it took Imperial Rome hundreds of years before its final collapse, it is occurring at a fraction of the time in modern day America and the World. The great banks and financial institutions which had become household names for a hundred years or more are failing at a rate reminiscent of the Great Depression. Glaring military failure and impotence in the face of third-rate opponents, hyper-inflation, personal bankruptcy, trade imbalance and government debt in the trillions of dollars, all highlighting the failure of a wealthy capitalist class, who like their predecessors in Roman times have once again sacrificed a healthy Republic for a failed empire."
We do not - should not - try to be the "policeman to the world". Ron Paul has made this point many times. And now, especially, we can't AFFORD to try to continue this practice! WAKE UP AMERICA!
"THE END OF AMERICA: A Warning to a Young Patriot" by Naomi Wolf is a book to be read - NOW! Also, Ron Paul tells it like it is in the book he wrote, "Revolution: A Manifesto"
Carol C.PERMANENT LINK
