How is the U.S like Rome?
Do you think the U.S will ever
fall as Rome did-Explain: what will the cause the fall or what will prevent the
fall?
If the U.S ever does fall, what
type of civilization would we become?
In
the words of “Queen”: “I WANT IT ALL!”
It’s been brought to my attention
that some people call America the new Rome. I’m not too sure I enjoy that
nickname. Why? Hhmmm… maybe because it’s that one empire that was known for
their downfall. Yeah,that’s not good. In this essay I’ll be answering some questions
that will help us understand why some people have taken to the nickname “Rome”.
America
is like Rome in the whole “I’m holier than thou” egotistical view. We want all
the all the other counties to whimper in our glow. It’s pretty sad. In the
essay” Wrapped in the Star-Spangled Toga”, Cullen Murphy compares President
Bush to Roman Emperor Diocletian. It’s a well-fitting analogy. After Katrina
hit New Orleans back in 2004-05, people expected Bush to immediately send the
National Guard faster than the speed of lighting; and of course, that fast as
lighting response people were waiting for didn’t happen. Even more people died
due the diseases that the human waste system and rotting bodies were giving
off. People had to wait to see if their families had made it safely. Mothers
and fathers lost their children, and children lost their mothers and fathers.
No one knew if their houses had made it through the disaster or not.
On
another note, on the same topic, we enjoy things too much. So many things have gotten
the green light that before would have been the death of your reputation. like
teen pregnancy, marijuana, extreme violence. Heck, even our cartoons have
violence! We indulge in the fact that we can have anything and everything whenever
we want. Which brings me to alcohol and the Roman vomitoriums. People today in
the clubs go and drink like the darkest if days have come rolling in. They go outside
or to the bathroom and vomit until there’s nothing. And instead of stopping,
getting a taxi, and going home, they go back for more ;Exactly how the Romans
did back in the day. We like our fancy things too much. We enjoy having too
much access; we enjoy having too much power. Other countries like Iraq aren’t
envious of us: they’re angry with us. They believe in limitations of the body
and soul.
On
the streak that we are on, I say yes; I believe America will fall and burn as
Rome did. I don’t want it to happen, but
I see us crashing and burning. And it all goes back to the power thing. I
believe that one day the national debt will consume us all and we won’t have
any other choice but to go bankrupt. Or actually pay back the money we owe.
Those two choices will ultimately decide our fate. I fear that we will in end
up as the movie Wall-E (Disney was on point). That we let our desires take over
until we have no way to go; backwards isn’t even option. We would have allowed
our greed and need for power overtake ourselves until there’s nothing left.
People say America is the big bad boss of the world. That we are the big,
formidable giants that the villagers are afraid of. Honestly, I see their point. We have truly allowed
our power blind us to the point where we have no sense of right or wrong. We’ve
fallen so far down the rabbit hole, it would take a century for Mad Hatter to
find us.
If,
sadly, we were overthrown by the minions of the world, I can see us going into
the Matrix; it would be our modern day after Rome. We would try to fix the mess
we created by creating a new mess, and in the process we accidentally blow up
the sun. I like the sun, by the way. I can see us now hiding underneath the
cities that we had once created and worshipped. We would truly no longer be
Romenica but the destitute ruins of Atlantis. There will be no history books on
us because there will be no one to write them. Twinkies won’t even be there to
save us. We would have finally met our match.
As I wrap up this essay, I just want to make a
few things clear: America is a beautiful country; I don’t want to see it fall,
not even for the “I told you so” moment. I want to see this county grow and
thrive. Yes, we have some issues that we need to work out but that doesn’t mean
we need to spiral into a downfall. And even though I love the Matrix trilogy,(2
and 3, they could have done better),only God knows how much I don’t want to
live in the Matrix. That is something I don’t even think of. Also, we need to
realize the importance limitations; the sun is a precious need for life. If we accidently
blow up the sun, we have no extra light bulbs.
