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Many of you have no doubt heard analogies between the decline of the Roman Empire, and the decline of the United States. As someone who loves studying the history of both, I think most of these analogies are very apt. In any case, I just read the following passage by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous Roman philosopher, statesman and constitutionalist.
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome becomes bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Some things truly never change, it seems. Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Let us hope an ever increasing number of Americans will recognize the wisdom of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Agreed! Although as a prerequisite, an increasing number of Americans will have to learn who he was...and I suspect that isn't a top priority within what remains of our educational system.
Many of you have no doubt heard analogies between the decline of the Roman Empire, and the decline of the United States. As someone who loves studying the history of both, I think most of these analogies are very apt. In any case, I just read the following passage by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous Roman philosopher, statesman and constitutionalist.
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome becomes bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Some things truly never change, it seems. Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Let us hope an ever increasing number of Americans will recognize the wisdom of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Immorality, debauchery was as much to blame as anything for the fall of the Roman Empire. I guess we fit that one too.
I think for the American situation, that just scrapes the surface...
For too long we've ignored some of our glaring problems because we've been prosperous as a country. Problems we didn't solve:
Drug problem - We spend billions of dollars on the "war against drugs" and we have one of the worst addiction rates of any developed country. Crime problem - We never solved our crime problem, particularly in inner cities. We need our entire population to advance in order for us to succeed as a country. Our crime problem is crippling a large portion of the population. Education Levels - Our education standards have regressed instead of progressed. Dropout rates are increasing. If we don't educate our youth we won't have the skilled workers and decision makers we need to improve as a country. Government corruption - We've got lawmakers and decision makers who are mored concerned about corporate interest than the well being of the public populace. Partisanship - We've got a polarized and incompetent legislative branch. Until we drop the Democrat AND Republican bs, we're not going to get anyting accomplished. Fortunately the younger generation doesn't have these same hangups.
Those are just a few things off the top of my head that are contributing to the downfall of our country.
Many of you have no doubt heard analogies between the decline of the Roman Empire, and the decline of the United States. As someone who loves studying the history of both, I think most of these analogies are very apt. In any case, I just read the following passage by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous Roman philosopher, statesman and constitutionalist.
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome becomes bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Some things truly never change, it seems. Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Let us hope an ever increasing number of Americans will recognize the wisdom of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Interesting quote. I tried to rep you but apparently I have done it too much. Thanks for sharing it.
It is ironic there is a town in Illinois bearing his name that is known for anything but honest statesmanship. Its onetime mayor served several years in the Federal pen.
Since the Eastern Empire lasted a thousand years after Cicero's death, and the Fall of Rome occurred hundreds of years after his demise, the comment from Cicero the OP posted was a concern, but not the reason the Empire fell.
And it will not be the reason the US falls. When we stop abiding by and respecting our constitution, that is when American society will fail.
Many of you have no doubt heard analogies between the decline of the Roman Empire, and the decline of the United States. As someone who loves studying the history of both, I think most of these analogies are very apt. In any case, I just read the following passage by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous Roman philosopher, statesman and constitutionalist.
"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome becomes bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Some things truly never change, it seems. Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. Let us hope an ever increasing number of Americans will recognize the wisdom of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Ignoring that the Western Roman Empire then went on to exist for another 530 or so years, Cicero actually never said that.
It originated in a fictional biography of Cicero called A Pillar of Iron (1965) by Taylor Caldwell. It's on page 483 and its completely fake.
Last edited by HistorianDude; 08-23-2010 at 02:19 PM..
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