Compare and contrast: Roman empire with USA

Personally, i see the only real similarity to be the devotion to individual greed, without considering the cost to society. I'm sure many others will have other points of view, and dispute what i've written.

No, not really.

There is no other similarity, actually why? That are two different ages and other ambience as well as two different superpowers. No relation.

This is just off the top of my head.

The Romans were continually debasing their currency. We have been on a completely fiat monetary system for about a generation now.

Historians disagree the extent of how much gold and silver the Romans exported to India, Ceylon and Yemen to purchase silk and spices. Some claim the amount ruined their economy, others claim it was manageable. I've heard economists make the same arguements about our purchases of foreign oil.

Since the days of the Roman Republic, the Boni bought off the masses with entertainment and gifts. This grew into the "bread and circuses" under the Emperors. Also, the Emperors stayed in power through massive payouts to the military. Compare that to Bush and Kerry making their current election promises out of your pocket.

Beginning around 150 AD Rome became too militarily extended. Wise Emperors pulled back (Hadrian in present day Romania, for example). Many people believe we are militarily over extended today (just how many countries do we have troops in now?). Just recently Bush announced plans to bring home some 70,000 troops over the next ten years.

Starting around the late third century, the Romans had to "buy off" hostile powers they could no longer fight. Just how much "aid" have we given North Korea to try to get them to curtail their nuclear program, or money to Egypt to buy "peace"?

Ancient Rome vs. Modern U.S.A.
Contrast:

In ancient times, war was "good business." Prisoners of war were enslaved--there was good money in conquering other peoples and engaging in the slave trade.

The ancient Romans were "terrorized" by the slave uprising led by the former gladiator, Spartacus. It took approximately three years for the Roman army to defeat the rebellious slaves. Six thousand captured slaves were crucified on the Appian Way, the main street leading into Rome. Their crucified bodies lined the road into Rome for 130 miles as a warning to other slaves.

In modern times, it is still "good business" to engage in war. Just ask the war contractors who profited during the Vietnam War era--or the contractors (e.g., Halliburton) who are now profiting due to the war in Iraq. However, modern war mongers and politicians do not openly crucify the "terrorists." They are designated as enemy combatants and secreted away in foreign countries where they are tortured (and killed?). The U.S.A. can do that because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution does not apply to governmental activity occurring outside our borders.

Concerns for "national security" keep these activities "top secret." What we don't know can't hurt us. Right? I mean--it's not like we have to look at 6000 crucified bodies lining both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue leading to the White House.

Forgotten 9/11? And 4000 innocent non-combattants...most of them are your countrymen and women. God Bless America.

You mean like they were trying to establish a world empire and now, today, the U.S. is? Are you wondering, like I am, if history might be repeating itself here? The rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and now the rise of the Bush/U.S. Empire???

The 9/11 excuse


The 9/11 Excuse:

When someone criticizes the government for its UNAMERICAN atrocities, someone else pops in and accuses the criticizer of being "unpatriotic" and cries: "Forgotten 9/11?"

"Remember the Alamo" was a battle cry that inspired the Texas pioneers who revolted against Mexico. The Texans wanted freedom from a centralized Mexican government. (Among other things, the Texans were pissed off about the ban on the import of slaves from the United States.) They believed that "war is our only resource."

"Defying surrender demands, the Texans in the fort [the Alamo] determined to fight. The seige, which began February 24 [1836], ended with hand-to-hand fighting within the walls on March 6 . . . [S]ome 180 [ ] defenders died, but the heroic resistence aroused fighting anger among Texans, who six weeks later defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, crying, Remember the Alamo!"

The battle cry, "Remember the Alamo" inspired the Texans just like "Remember 9/11" inspires modern day citizens of the United States to wage war. We want to avenge the deaths of all those persons who fell victim to the terroristic attack at the hands of the Al-Q'uaeda. But U.S. Citizens must question whether "war is our only resource."

We must question whether the means our government uses justify the ends. We must question our international policies that engender hate against us. We must question whether we--as a nation--practice what we preach.

The phrase "Remember 9/11" does not excuse governmental defiance of everything this Country stands for. Blind patriotism is not patriotism at all -- it is simply wearing blinders for the sake of willful ignorance.

In the words of the United States Supreme Court:

"[D]ebate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

WATTS v. UNITED STATES, 394 U.S. 705 (1969)

So, please debate the public issues of our ongoing military presence in Iraq and our country's treatment of persons it labels "enemy combatants." But don't rely on the tragedy of 9/11 to excuse government conduct and then accuse those who question the government of being unpatriotic.

You need to offer more than the "patriotic card" to stymie my voice or to make me feel guilty for questioning our government for systematically redefining the meaning of "freedom," for chipping away at all of our rights, for feeding us with hate and fear propaganda, and for launching this nation into another era of senseless war that is reminiscent of the Vietnam era.

Can't help it. Love this person from the inside out. Damn your good Law.

Re: Compare and contrast: Roman empire with USA

The romans were basically exploring the known World, following the path of the Greeks and triggered by their economic system. Their intelligent integration of other tribes elite into theirs, engineering know-how, sophistaced warfare AND their ability to write about it (e.g. Bello Gallico , Caesar) created something we all call an Empire. However, at no point in time the Senat or Dictator/Ceasar had absolute control over the regions of which the Empire consisted.

The EU, in many ways, is more powerfull than Rome has ever been.