Having read a debate initiated by an article written by Dr. Craig Bosley has provoked a lot of responses on the state of the country; it has inspired me to write this as my first post on my political blog (the only place you'll get a whiff of my political train of thought...I'm like a real conservative in the sense that politics should not be discussed so openly as to advertise yourself. Get involved but by all means don't make an ass of yourself).
Dr. Bosley, in responding to the many responses to his article (about 73 and growing) is an optimist about the ability of our democracy and our modern-day intelligence to beat back the calls of history that grow ever louder. I, surprisingly (given my generally positive attitude) disagree. We cannot defy history. It seems impossible, given the fact that America has been in existence for such a short time compared to the empires and nations past (about 225 years compared to about 2,000 for Rome and 414 for the British Empire), and the optimists point out that we live in a very unique era. I agree wholeheartedly that we live in the most unique era in human history, with a free population and economies that were inconceivable just 50 years ago. However, that uniqueness has backfired, I think. Our democracy has allowed the rise of political partisans who are not only increasing their power, but are frightening in their relentless pursuit to squeeze the country to fit their misguided, unrealistic world. They (both left and right) see the world in the heaviest shades of black and white. There can be no convincing them of an opposing view, no matter how logical or common-sensical it is. And scarier still, the American people have been all to willing to succumb to the partisans' twisted views. They (the American people) have allowed, even encouraged, the rise of the partisans (out of fear, naturally) in order to combat the evils the partisan left and right have put out there (be it terrorism or the erosion of our civil rights). Also, this new era, with technological wonders like the internet and mass media, has allowed the world at large to shrink and information, culture, and the connection of people from all around the globe is slowly bridging the culture gap. However, the technology has been used by partisans and antagonizing elements (such as the obsessive, profit-driven media) to pursue their personal agendas and speed up the corruption and the polarizing of our nation. The past 40 years of the erosion of our morals, identity and sense of duty can, in my opinion, be attributed to powerful special interests (who wield more power today than anyone ever thought possible back in the 1890's to the 1920's) and partisans, who work hand in hand to ensure that the power falls into and remains in the hands of the polarized elite, with their divided world views.
The saddest thing is, is that no nation or empire, no matter how powerful and vigorous, will succumb to the calls of history. It is unavoidable and the cycle of history will probably never abate. America, like every other nation in the world, will eventually fall and rise again as a new entity (or perhaps, never rise again. Who knows, really?).
When a nation or empire's morals, sense of identity, and sense of duty are eroded, the only thing that awaits are the calls of history. Mighty Rome fell after centuries of corruption after the Good Emperors. Even one of the greatest men in all history, Constantine the Great, could not reverse the moral, economic and military corruption and decay of Rome. As John Julius Norwich stated in his 3-piece work, "Byzantium," one of the key reasons for the decline and collapse of the Western Roman Empire was that "the old Roman virtues of duty, honor, logic and pride had been eroded over time, to be replaced by an alien, eastern religion that emphasized humility, loving your neighbor and turning the other cheek." Once those old virtues had been eroded and replaced, the collapse of Western Rome was inevitable. Its ruins and new foundations among them gave rise to new kingdoms. This is to be expected. When the original values a state was founded on change radically or replaced altogether, either a massive power shift occurs (like when Constantine recognized the power shift from pagan to Christian and laid the foundations of the Eastern Roman Empire, which became the Byzantine Empire later on [as the Byzantines, though they were the rightful inheritors of the Roman Imperial name, were a completely different culture by the end of the Heraclian Dynasty]) or complete devastation. Imperial Russia was overthrown in a revolution that saw the complete destruction and eventual implementation of a whole new set of morals and identity. A brand new foundation, that of Communism, was poured and built upon. This pouring of a foundation, building up to a powerful status amongst the world community, eventual corruption and decay and ultimate collapse, only for a new state to take its place and repeat is the essence of the cycle.
Corruption, over long periods of time, obviously spell doom for empires and nations no matter how powerful and dynamic. Take the dynamic Muslim Empire, stretching from India to Spain, as far north as Armenia and as far south as Nubia, was rent apart after several hundred years, thanks to intrigue, internal unrest and the Shiite-Sunni split (you could say this can be compared to the Red-Blue split of America today). And that empire produced various caliphates that were powerful for a time but eventually grew decadent and soon collapsed in the wake of dynamic, newer powers (the Ottoman Turks and a united, Catholic Spain come to mind). The Ottomans repeated this cycle, having starting out by creating their empire on the ruins of the Byzantine Empire (who they conquered in May 1453), taking over the by-now-completely dead Middle East and aggressively expanding into North Africa. They were the undisputed rulers of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeastern Europe. Only the Battles of Lepanto (1571) and the Siege of Vienna (1683) checked their advances. That last battle marked the beginning of the Ottoman decline, that, despite numerous failed reforms in every category (military, civil, technological) was on the verge of collapse after one incompetent ruler after another. The Ottomans eventually fell victim to the calls of history and was dissolved after World War I after about 200 years of corruption and decay.
America seems to be experiencing the symptoms of a nation beginning to fall off. Our economy depends on foreign labor, morals have declined since the early 1960's, we are now struggling with a sense of identity and our democratic process has been hijacked by partisans. That last one is more than enough to bring our eventual downfall. Imperial Russia fell because of an autocratic elite who refused, quite adamantly, to grant civil and military reform. Rome fell because their foundations had eroded almost entirely, thanks to a series of corrupt emperors, civil wars and the replacement of their values. And the Ottomans fell because any attempts at reasonable reform were met with resistance (sometimes violent), and those reforms were rendered moot. Even the Young Turks could not change the tides of history and the Ottoman Empire met its end in 1922 with the formal declaration of the Republic of Turkey (ending 623 years of the Ottoman Empire). America, it seems, will meet its end at the hands of the far left and far right, who would rather see the nation divided to meet their specific interests and agenda rather than working to reform America intelligently. And helping them out will be an elite of corporate and political powers who wield more power and financial influence than any entity in human history. It is the CEO's of failing companies and the politically obsessed people who eventually will bring America to her knees. And the most tragic of all, they will all be goaded on by the people who placed them there. The American people, who were either frightened, brow-beaten, deceived and/or convinced to willingly surrender their true liberty and identity. Their surrender and apathy to take back their liberties and identity from this elite alliance of partisanship and corporate/political interests will sound the death knell of our nation, just as the moral decline sounded the death knell of Rome and the refusal to reform sounded the calls of history for Imperial Russia and the wave of corruption killed off the Ottoman Empire.
There IS hope, however, even for a nation as troubled as we are now. The beautiful thing about history is that it is a phoenix. New nations, more dynamic than the last, rise from the ashes and graves of empires and nations past, to revive the old wonders and to produce new wonders and discoveries. Out of the ashes of Rome arose various principalities and kingdoms that, for all their internal and external problems, laid the foundations of modern Europe. Kingdoms, each more dynamic and powerful than the last, produced discoveries and advanced culture and technology that culminated in wonderful periods of human innovation (both cultural and intellectual) such as The Renaissance and The Enlightenment. As time progressed and kingdoms and nations repeated the cycle of history over and over, the cycle of contribution continued just as steadily. The contribution of knowledge over the centuries was incredible and laid the groundwork for today's scientific community. For every dark shadow, there must be a brilliant light to counter it. In this case, the dark cycle of history has always been countered by the brilliant light of human discovery and cultural growth. And the past 20 years has seen the most technological breakthroughs in the shortest period of time in human history. Even with the moral decline of America (and world governments at large), these breakthroughs have begun to unleash the incredible potential of the human race. And if that potential rises above the pettiness and useless, unproductive shouting matches that have come to define modern day politics, policies, agenda and morals, then humanity will embark on a beautiful era of discovery, wisdom and prosperity (of course, there will be troubles and trials, but remember, for every light there has to be some dark, and vice versa).
The cycle of history will always dictate as it has since human history began. Nations and empires will rise, contribute for awhile, fall into decay and die, only to lay the foundations for the next entity. America is no different. We are bound by history and we cannot escape. However, we CAN leave a brilliant legacy for the next entity to use. Why should we limit it to our democracy? We can, and MUST reform our country so that when our time comes, the next entity will be left with a brilliant framework to build upon, to usher in eras far greater than we will know. It is our duty, our obligation to future generations of people and to the many generations past who survived their respective eras to contribute to our world today. We are all connected in the cycle, bound to each era. And if we allow the partisans and corrupt politicians to have their way, we will not only become part of the cycle of history, we will be one of its most tragic examples of great promise and potential gone horribly awry, letting down all those people in the past and the future. The stakes are too high, the consequences too horrifying and the rewards too fantastic to ignore.
Carpe Diem
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