Doomed to Repeat It?
This quote comes from William Federer about the fall of Rome. There are several eerie parallels, in my humble opinion. Read over it, ruminate, and let it digest. You can always vomit it back up later.
"Rome fell September 4, 476 A.D. It was overrun with illegal immigrants: Visigoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Lombards, Jutes and Vandals, who at first assimilated and worked as servants, but then came so fast they did not learn the Latin Language or the Roman form of government. Highly trained Roman Legions moving rapidly on their advanced road systems, were strained fighting conflicts worldwide. Rome had a trade deficit, having outsourced most of its grain production to North Africa, and when Vandals captured that area, Rome did not have the resources to retaliate. Attila the Hun was committing terrorist attacks. The city of Rome was on welfare with its citizens being given free bread. One Roman commented: 'Those who live at the expense of the public funds are more numerous than those who provide them.' Tax collectors were 'more terrible than the enemy.' Gladiators provided violent entertainment in the Coliseum. There was injustice in courts, exposure of unwanted infants, infidelity, immorality and perverted bathhouses. 5th-Century historian Salvian wrote: "O Roman people be ashamed... Let nobody think otherwise, the vices of our bad lives have alone conquered us'."
- William Federer
"The only people who can bring us down [America] is ourselves.
- paraphrase of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show
I think there's enough in there for both Republicans and Democrats to chew on. But I think there's a greater connection than mere political ones. It appears that the best way to destroy a great civilization is not with a weapon, but from within. The societal loss of basic morality, a cultural refusal to practice isolationist policies and economic self-reliance, and multitudes of citizens who only leech from the government's coffers appears to be the hallmarks of doom. Are we there yet? No.
But I fear we're in the ballpark.
"Rome fell September 4, 476 A.D. It was overrun with illegal immigrants: Visigoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Lombards, Jutes and Vandals, who at first assimilated and worked as servants, but then came so fast they did not learn the Latin Language or the Roman form of government. Highly trained Roman Legions moving rapidly on their advanced road systems, were strained fighting conflicts worldwide. Rome had a trade deficit, having outsourced most of its grain production to North Africa, and when Vandals captured that area, Rome did not have the resources to retaliate. Attila the Hun was committing terrorist attacks. The city of Rome was on welfare with its citizens being given free bread. One Roman commented: 'Those who live at the expense of the public funds are more numerous than those who provide them.' Tax collectors were 'more terrible than the enemy.' Gladiators provided violent entertainment in the Coliseum. There was injustice in courts, exposure of unwanted infants, infidelity, immorality and perverted bathhouses. 5th-Century historian Salvian wrote: "O Roman people be ashamed... Let nobody think otherwise, the vices of our bad lives have alone conquered us'."
- William Federer
"The only people who can bring us down [America] is ourselves.
- paraphrase of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show
I think there's enough in there for both Republicans and Democrats to chew on. But I think there's a greater connection than mere political ones. It appears that the best way to destroy a great civilization is not with a weapon, but from within. The societal loss of basic morality, a cultural refusal to practice isolationist policies and economic self-reliance, and multitudes of citizens who only leech from the government's coffers appears to be the hallmarks of doom. Are we there yet? No.
But I fear we're in the ballpark.
posted by Yorick at 7:43 PM
2 Comments:
Yorick, where did you get your Federer quote from, I might want to read more
To be honest, I did precious little research on the quote before I posted it.
I did some looking, and I found out that it's one of William Federer's "American Minutes" from September 4th. Apparently (I think on the radio) he gives a little tidbit from history based on the day of the year.
He seems fairly reputable- he was or is running for Congress, I'm not sure which- but he's definitely not a crackpot.
I know that Salvian was a 5th century philospher, and everything else passes the smell test as far as being historically factual, but I'll keep digging.
He's got a book out- I'll link to it when I get some more information.
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