ID:183118
 Oct 19 2007, 7:57 am
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In my western civ class we are talking about the fall of Rome. The Roman empire was the greatest world power at the time. They had everything. And all of the sudden it all went to nothing. Think about how we live our lives in America; free, great entertainment, advanced technology. What if in a few years America falls? It will happen without a doubt. Every world power falls eventually. What if it falls into a cruel dictatorship? Everything we know today would be gone. It's not a question of if, but when.
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Jump the border then. If you are so sure that history will repeat itself go crisis nuts. Build a bomb shelter get food supplies get ready for it if you are that parinoid about it. If you worry to much about crap then there will be no time for fun ;) (english lit teacher).
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Every empire has fallen (sure, the US may not have a ton of foreign territories, but we sure as hell act like we own the world). Hell, it's nothing new, and people have known it for a while. The Romans, the Dutch (this one you don't hear about as much), the French, and the British, each nations with once-vast empires are now considerably smaller, but, except for Rome, which was due to outside consequences, they haven't fallen past their original borders. I really doubt all of America will fall.
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The United States and Rome are too different to say that the United States will fall just as Rome did. It is inevitable that all countries on Earth will be gone one day (and possibly just have one government to rule the planet), but the reason is likely to be very different. There are too many social, political, religious, scientific, etc... factors involved.
Why don't you figure out why Rome fell? It's really interesting, so you won't be wasting your time if you do. All of the events leading up to it are pretty neat to know. And personally, I don't want America to go down before England, just because England is the main influence on this country and to fall before they do (very old country, by thw way) is just pathetic and weak. The only way I would have it is if the United States merged with Canada and became a new nation. | |
I dont mean the united states will fall as Rome did. I just used Rome as an example becuase it was once a massive world power.
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Knifo wrote:
In my western civ class we are talking about the fall of Rome. The Roman empire was the greatest world power at the time. They had everything. And all of the sudden it all went to nothing. Think about how we live our lives in America; free, great entertainment, advanced technology. What if in a few years America falls? It will happen without a doubt. Every world power falls eventually. What if it falls into a cruel dictatorship? Everything we know today would be gone. It's not a question of if, but when. Um, first of all, the world was extremely and completely different then than it is now. First of all, they had empires that would fight to control the world. I don't mean like we do now, I literally mean they would go from country to country and destroy everything to everyone. They would castrate people who believe in a certain religion and all that jazz. They fought on horses with swords and stuff. They walked from country to country on foot and ships. Country's don't just fall nowadays like they did back then. It's just not possible. | |
Cavern wrote:
Country's don't just fall nowadays like they did back then. It's just not possible. USSR. | |
Cavern wrote:
Um, first of all, the world was extremely and completely different then than it is now. First of all, they had empires that would fight to control the world. I don't mean like we do now, I literally mean they would go from country to country and destroy everything to everyone. They would castrate people who believe in a certain religion and all that jazz. They fought on horses with swords and stuff. How can you have two "first of all"'s? Anyway, the empire behavior and expansion really depended on the empire in question. You can't group them all together simply because they are all so different. It's like comparing Great Britain with the Holy Roman Empire--expansion, influence, behavior, rebellion, economy, etc... they are all different. You can't group 'em together. They walked from country to country on foot and ships. Country's don't just fall nowadays like they did back then. It's just not possible. How are they going to walk from one country to the next on a ship? It just makes no sense! And yes, a country can fall just as easily as any country has before. It just takes the right circumstances, right leaders, and people. Revolution is imminent! | |
There are several flawed assumptions here. The most obvious is that Rome "fell". While the Roman Empire certainly declined, it didn't just magically disappear overnight. Indeed, remnants survive in one form or another to this day! Things change. The Rome of 510 BC was nothing like the Rome of 100 AD.
Eventually, Rome lost it's global dominance as an active power. But the decline was gradual, over centuries. In the meantime, it created systems that would perpetuate into all western governments. So, in many ways, it's development mirrors a human life cycle- birth, growth, decline, and "death" survived by offspring. This cycle governs human life, and, by extension, all organizations of humans. A society is, after all, nothing more than the aggregate of the behaviors of its population. Why, then would you conclude that America would suddenly fall? There are very few examples of any sizable society suddenly doing anything. The USSR didn't suddenly collapse- it eroded after decades of corruption and mismanagement. Eventually, visible signs emerged of its inability. But neither did it completely disappear. Russia survives and many elements seek to continue the subjugation of satellite states. The United States may very well be in slow decline after reaching the height of power in the post WW2 era. There are certainly strong indicators that US international strength is eroding, along with military force projection capabilities and financial stability. Increased competition from emergent powers threatens to push the US down the rungs and only time will tell if the USA can successfully adapt or will be stuck in the paralysis that is evident in the decline of previous European powers during US ascendancy. | |
It will happen in 21 years, give or take a few months.
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You guys are missing the point. I only used Rome as an example. I was just using Rome to show that eventually America will eventually deminish as a world power.
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Knifo wrote:
Think about how we live our lives in America; free, great entertainment, advanced technology. I'm sure the lack of time spent on entertainment would do nothing to hurt the country. | |
Knifo wrote:
In my western civ class we are talking about the fall of Rome. The Roman empire was the greatest world power at the time. They had everything. And all of the sudden it all went to nothing. Think about how we live our lives in America; free, great entertainment, advanced technology. What if in a few years America falls? It will happen without a doubt. Every world power falls eventually. What if it falls into a cruel dictatorship? Everything we know today would be gone. It's not a question of if, but when. Free? What do you mean by free? | |
Knifo wrote:
You guys are missing the point. I only used Rome as an example. I was just using Rome to show that eventually America will eventually deminish as a world power. Well why the hell would you bring something like this up anyways? People don't necessarily think about these things, just live your life and stop worrying about the word/country ending. Geez. It seems it is all you people talk about. | |
Cavern wrote:
Well why the hell would you bring something like this up anyways? People don't necessarily think about these things, just live your life and stop worrying about the word/country ending. Geez. It seems it is all you people talk about. Why worry about the largest, most powerful entity on the planet potentially collapsing into city-states with partisan agendas and more access to advanced weapons than any other national entity on the planet? | |
CaptFalcon33035 wrote:
The only way I would have it is if the United States merged with Canada and became a new nation. hey man, keep your problems to yourselves! we don't want them :] | |
Everyone always says this, but we're still more free than not... Perhaps not as free as others, but more free than most...
I can do anything I want to do, and that's free enough for me... | |
The US Government was made to change when needed. But even still, just because other cultures failed does not mean ours will fail. That's like saying if my friend jumped off a bridge and lived that I would too:P
You haven't convinced me;), but I don't particularly disagree, who knows what the future will hold.