Monday, August 24, 2009

#30 Observations From My Travels - Following The Romans

I read Gibbon’s Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and the similarities between our society and the last days of the Roman empire are striking. Large sports stadiums for a sports crazy population, less of its citizens working, people demanding more and more services from their government, powerful men in positions of influence preferring young men over young women, an elitist class that sets the social and cultural agenda, a standing army of professional soldiers ready to obey orders without question, the rise of self-indulgence and instant self- gratification, the lack of purpose, discipline and direction of our people, …all that and more. When these facts become apparent it’s already too late. The damage has already been done, the future is locked in. Momentum will carry us forward no matter what we do. It’s the nature of the human spices I suppose to repeat its success and its failures. The Book of Art says: History doesn’t tell us what humans did - it tells us what humans do.

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