Thread: How is the USA similar to ancient Rome?

Originally Posted by Schmaven

How is the USA similar to ancient Rome?

We both had our turn at ruling this bitch.

Let's not..
Die / go insane from lead poisoning
Have all our citizens join the military and go off conquering whatever they please. (Or so this is what I heard, all the slaves had the other jobs. Once in the military they felt they had no loyalty to Rome so did whatever they wanted, etc.)
Elect insane rulers
Throw all the smart people out from political arenas.
Allow people to slaughter each other in stadiums.
Allow insane nutcases to pick us apart from the outside.
Lose all sense of unity and direction as to decay from inside.
...etc.

Even then, we'll still probably fall. Given enough time. I mean... anything can happen, right?

Originally Posted by GestaltAlteration

I mean... anything can happen, right?

Yes, anything can happen.

^someone thinks they're clever.

Anyways, the only major similarity between Rome and the US truly is this: we both take any influence from the outside and adapt it to our own needs. Sure Rome did dominate and kill too much, but they also didnt just erradicate all cultures, they would investigate them and find what practical uses from their way of life they could.

But yes, when they fell, the reasons stated above are very much right, plus they stopped using outside influences.

It seems to me that when most people make this comparison they are just trying to say the US is bad and its going to fall yadda yadda yadda. It use to be creative, but its not anymore.

Both were attacked by barbarians. Ahem.

Originally Posted by GestaltAlteration

Let's not..
Die / go insane from lead poisoning -In Progress
Have all our citizens join the military and go off conquering whatever they please. -Too Late
Elect insane rulers -Too Late
Throw all the smart people out from political arenas. -Too Late
Allow people to slaughter each other in stadiums. -Too Late
Allow insane nutcases to pick us apart from the outside. -Too Late
Lose all sense of unity and direction as to decay from inside. -In Progress

Great start though.

And we both have holidays which are only excuses to have orgies?

Yes.

If I remember correctly, we both hold elections on days that people have to work. Even though restrictions on this exist, you still have that symbolic of bias towards the rich ruling the government.

The only difference is a little technology. People that like to think we live in a more civilized world are only fooling themselves. Roman empire crashed and burned. British empire crashed and burned. The American empire will crash and burn too, eventually.

Now some of you are going to be like "ZOMG AMERICAN EMPIRE WE DONT LIVE IN AN EMPIRE." Yes... Yes, we do. Empire building is done through economics now, not by sword and shield. There is more human suffering in this world right now than any other time in human history. This is American corporations hard at work - to make more for themselves and less for everyone else.

Ah yes, todays world is also filled with a lot more "illusions". The "illusion" of security, the "illusion" of safety, the "illusion" of having choice. You have no choice. You have owners. Get used to it.

There is more human suffering in this world right now than any other time in human history.

Woah, so technology really doesn't lessen suffering? So back in prehistoric times before we had medicine and suffered from diseases and issues that technology didn't help us with, we were more better off?

You're only thinking of the TINY fraction of this planets population that even has access to this medicine your talking about.

The quality of human life has been risen dramatically over the majority of the planet, though some places have had a more significant increase than others. We don't all have to forage for food and fight wild animals all the time. I'm sure places like poverty-stricken Africa have SOME medicine as well.

Remember, 50% of this planets population lives on LESS than $2 dollars a day. I doubt these poor bastards are getting the medicare they need. This isn't even including the hundreds of thousands of people in developed countries like the US of A can't even afford. You want to be healthy? Fork out the fuckin' cash then!

And 100% of Starbucks charge MORE than $5 for a cup of coffee!

Beats



Any day of the week. The world has changed.

You`re speaking way too generally. The quality of life in lots of parts of this world have been declining steadily for a while. Especially since the rise of the american empire. Sure, your neigborhood is looking good. Let`s go ask the people in indonesia, africa, south america, and all the other places that american corporations have completely, utterly taken advantage of for their own greedy desires and see what they say.

Originally Posted by SpecialInterests

You`re speaking way too generally. The quality of life in lots of parts of this world have been declining steadily for a while. Especially since the rise of the american empire. Sure, your neigborhood is looking good. Let`s go ask the people in indonesia, africa, south america, and all the other places that american corporations have completely, utterly taken advantage of for their own greedy desires and see what they say.

You're right and you're wrong. You're correct that American imperialism has fucked the world. But it's not the corporations so much as the combination of corporations and guns. If it was just business, then people would have stopped doing business with the abusive companies a long time ago. It's that they are forced at gunpoint by their governments, that gives them problems.

Indonesia. Africa. South America.

Don't tell me these places had cities to begin with before the age of commercialism! Saying the world is worse now than it was in the past is a hippie/anarchist way of thinking. America isn't the best of nations. But America has changed the world for better and for worse.

I think both of you have good valid points, but America has done good and bad. The idealism of America has been the same as every other empire. Americans think that when they do something to another nation, they are helping them. Every empire has said that. Every empire (just about) has suffered from corruption which ultimately (or helped) lead to its demise. The big thing about today like was said before was about the coorperations and how they have more power than some countries. (Walmart, Microsoft, ect). They are like leeches or parasites, feeding off the people and countries from which they reside in.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
Where have you been? its alright we know where youve been.
Youve been in the pipeline, filling in time, provided with toys and
scouting for boys.
You bought a guitar to punish your ma,
And you didnt like school, and you know youre nobodys fool,
So welcome to the machine.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
What did you dream? its alright we told you what to dream.
You dreamed of a big star, he played a mean guitar,
He always ate in the steak bar. he loved to drive in his jaguar.
So welcome to the machine.


Let's hope it's not to late to stop this machine.

The USA is becomming more and more similar to Nazi Germany if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Daniel Danciu

Woah, so technology really doesn't lessen suffering? So back in prehistoric times before we had medicine and suffered from diseases and issues that technology didn't help us with, we were more better off?

It depends on how you quantify suffering. In prehistoric times, there were no plagues because no one lived close enough to each other to cause pandemic spread of disease. In prehistoric times, there was no instantaneous first degree burns due to phosphorus shells or napalm. There was no radiation poisoning or carcinogenic chemicals in the water supply.

Once you come up with an accurate way to quantify suffering, you might find that it has actually increased. At the very least, it has stayed roughly the same.

No cancer or Aids either,.. and all of that.