About this time each year I attempt to clear out some of my books, packing up older ones and putting new titles in their place. This usually happens every year and because I do this each year, for me, history does repeat itself.
I have a number of history books and as I cull through the collection, often I will get distracted by titles or topics.
One of the courses I took in college was entitled the "Rise of Western Civilization”, not really an exciting course, especially because it was taught on Saturday mornings. But I came across the text was used in class, a thick, heavy book....lots of words.
Much of the history of western civilization has deep roots in Roman history. As I paged through the text, I was attracted to the section that discussed the reasons for the rise of the Roman Empire and the suggested reasons for its decline, as offered by famous historians.
Many will claim the Roman Empire never really fell, only that it adapted to a changing world. But few who study history will deny the numerous attempts of other nations and cultures to overthrow the 'glory days' of Rome. Perhaps it was not the attacks by others who caused the 'fall,', but the Roman people themselves. Not being around in 476 A.D. makes it difficult to personally observe the reasons, but as I reviewed the explanations in the text, there were some strikingly sharp and frightening similarities to today's society.
The introduction of lead pipes to the water system, replacing the old aqueduct system had a severe negative impact upon the health and welfare in the Empire. Even today, lead is still a poison with impact upon the safety and welfare of society. What scientific discoveries today, for the good of mankind, will have the potential to kill us in the future? Some claim the push toward the use of nuclear energy may be the next great health disaster. Or will it be wind turbines?
Civil wars and internal conflicts sapped the strength of the Empire. Although it has been 150 years since our Civil War, perhaps the U.S. attempt to keep peace around the world has sapped our strength to improve our quality of life.
Abandonment of old beliefs, religious and/or political, led to confusion and unrest. The moral strength of the Empire became compromised and questioned. While beliefs and ideals change over time as society changes, an orderly transition in imperative in an effort to avoid chaos.
At its peak of world power, Rome encouraged the practice of birth control, leading to a decline in its population. Birth control was also seen as a tool to reduce sexually transmitted diseases, spreading out of control, the result of a society that had lost its moral and religious compass.
Political misdirection and politics played a major role in the 'fall of Rome'. Failure to have a workable constitution and with a government controlled in large part by a small, rich aristocracy and with 'liberal thinking' rulers, created a tremendous drain on the financial and political resources of the once rich and wealthy Empire. And under the weight of a vast and expanded bureaucracy, the government found itself unable govern effectively .
Easy living and a population that became lazy destroyed the belief that hard work and commitment would lead to a strong and effective society. It was the world's first real confrontation with the negative impact of 'too much welfare' in a society.
The flow of gold and other riches away from the Empire to pay for luxury items, items with no real personal value, was one of the final 'nails in the economic coffin', preventing the Empire from ever regaining its world economic leadership.
Now, I am not saying that history ever repeats itself, but there are some lessons that could be learned here. I realize that it is not 476 A.D. and the world has changed. My question is...how much have we really changed? (Perhaps I should have stayed awake in class more, even though it was Saturday morning, I could answer that question.)
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