Bread and Circuses

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

One of the great causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was idleness. The ruling classes tried to keep the mind of the people off their plight by giving them bread (welfare) and entertainment (circuses) which became gorier and gorier.

What's is happening now in our civilization:

1. Even now, if you can't pay for food, there are food banks, and some kind of welfare state that minimally (usually inadequately) tries to provide necessaries;
2. Television replaces going out for entertainment; and it is becoming more and more amoral in its presentations.

Think about it! When was the last time you saw some prime-time show or movie on TV that was not preceeded by some kind of warning? We allow this stuff into our homes, along with "commercial" messages that are becoming more and more based on sexuality, and think nothing of it. My parents and especially my grandparents would have been scandalized.

Is this the way our world ends? Not with a bang but a commercial?

[Duke87 1,070]

And terrorists are basically like modern day Vandals or Visigoths, so we've got our own "barbarians" threatening us.

One can draw plenty of parallels.

But there are also differences. "Western Civilization" consists of many nations. The Roman Empire was just one - and it consisted almost entirely of conquered lands, meaning a lot of displeased provinced locals. It was bound to fall apart eventually. Every "empire" in history has fallen apart like that. The modern world is different in that it is no longer common acceptable practice to go conquer your neighbors because you can. And that makes things more stable, to some degree. People are ruled more by their own kind, not foreign conquerers.

Are there problems? No doubt. But I wouldn't be quite so "gloom and doom" about it at this point.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Ultimate Fighting Championships

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

There are more forms of imperialism than physical conquest. If you think what the United States of America does when it "helps" some backward land to achieve "democracy" is not a form of ideological imperialism, them what is it? Notwithstanding Horatio Alger and Horace Greely, do you really think it is anything other than [enlightened] self-interest?

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

There are more forms of imperialism than physical conquest. If you think what the United States of America does when it "helps" some backward land to achieve "democracy" is not a form of ideological imperialism, them what is it? Notwithstanding Horatio Alger and Horace Greely, do you really think it is anything other than [enlightened] self-interest?quote>

To bad that backfires every time they have tried it.