A Line in the Sand...
Monday, February 2, 2009 at 10:52pm
Responsibility. Notions of self-respect and worth. Pride and integrity. Words in the wind, all of them. It seems as if the idea of boldly making decisions has given way to halfhearted notions of timidity. From our athletes to our presidents, from our school children to the people who teach them I tell you this now:
"The line must be drawn here! This far! No further!" - Patrick Stewart, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: First Contact
I remember being a child who had no notion of honesty, integrity, or the value of truth. When confronted I would lie. When in trouble I would lie. Ultimately, I would even lie to myself. I would concoct these excuses and delude myself into thinking things that were not true. It was a practice in futility and self-destruction. It took a few years of growing up and some internal struggles for me to realize what I was and make the conscious decision to become something different. Something better. With that I come about to the topic at hand.
The United States is a nation in decline. We make excuses for ourselves and the behaviors we condone. Or worse yet, we lie to ourselves to comfort the darkness that broods inside us. Like an open wound, we pour our momentary pleasures and self-gratification into souls deprived of their Light. Nonsense you say. Ignorance I retort. This is not some philosophical writing of human existentialism. I am talking about who you are. What defines you as an individual. Your ability to stand on your own and live a life of happiness free from the mundane frivolities we busy ourselves with on a daily basis. Dismiss me if you will, but think of my words in your deepest moments of solitude. When you are all alone. In the night. Where no one will see you crumble. Where no one will hear your cries.
I draw parallels between the decline of the American nation with the fall of the Roman Empire in the first centuries of the currently accepted Gregorian calendar. Historians, scholars and amateurs alike have dissected, discussed, and dismissed countless explanations as to why the Roman Empire finally collapsed, if it ever truly did.
Flavius Vegetius Renatus,a writer in the Late Roman Empire, wrote a work that became famous as the lone surviving work of the Roman martial system. In it, he decried the laxity with which the Roman army had debased itself to. The "Germanization" as he called it, wherein the Roman legions began to rely more heavily on foreign mercenaries led to the cultural "barbarization" of the entire Legionary Corps. This in turn led to the breakdown of discipline in the ranks, increased complacency in their task of defending the vast borders of the Empire and the formation of independent loyalties to specific Commanders instead of the Roman government, and, in turn, the people.
More significant still was the loss of civic virtue amongst the actual citizenry: "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay," wrote Edward Gibbon. He could have been writing about the present. The causes of destruction were varied and multiplied over time. With this passage came the increased detachment between citizen and citizenship. Fewer and fewer were willing to take up the mantle of responsibility and hold the line against increased complacency. Thus, there came a point when the artifices that held an empire cracked under the strain, and the blind were illuminated in the fires of their own destruction. The truth of words spoken over two hundred years ago ring through to the present. As it was then, so it is now. The fall of an Empire.
As societies become more complex they tend to complicate the very problems they seek to solve. Social complexity can include different social and economic roles for people, an increased reliance on symbolic and abstract communication as well as the creation and growth of a new class of information producers and analysts who are not involved in primary resource production. Such complexity requires a substantial investment in resources, energy and wealth, in order to support. Thus when a society like Rome, or the United States today, confronts a problem it tends to create a labyrinthine process of bureaucracy, excess infrastructure, or unnecessary social class to address the challenge. Moreover, this new class lends to the impression that a solution is being worked on. It is the illusion of security and progress that now interest society as opposed to actual decision-making.
The economic decline, militaristic expansion, depopulation of the country's interior, increased immigration into the cities without citizenship, dependency on deficit spending for the military, the rapid expansion of bureaucracy and public corruption, the neutering of the military due to political ineptness, the lack of a real leader in recent decades — a series of misfortunes which proved catastrophic in combination. Wait, am I talking about Rome or the United States?
However, the problems came from outside of Roman territory as well as within. In addition to the wealthy investing more into bureaucratic expenditures and less on infrastructure, there were two serious problems the Romans faced: The Sassanid Empire in the East, and the Germanic tribes along the north. These were not the same tribes that Rome had swept away during the Pax Romana. Due to increased contact with Rome, in both cultural and economic terms, a dramatic shift took place. Disparities in wealth led to a ruling class and the cohesion of the Germanic tribes into a Federation which led to a much more cohesive and formidable opponent for Rome to contend with. With the Sassanid threat looming their was unprecedented immigration at the end of the 4th century which led to new extreme pressures on the Roman government to deal with.
The global war on terror is a drain on this country's resources. Properly channeled and unleashed the American military can act as a precise surgical instrument or a blunt hammer of destruction, but caught in the web of political agendas it is rendered nearly impotent. Globalization and increased inter-connectivity has allowed America's company's and neighbors to exploit the vast potential of the global market. We have put billions in the hands of those who oppose us, and we have allowed greed to lose sight of our citizens. The free market should reign, but it is our responsibility to invest in the infrastructure to support the needs of the people who reside in this country.
For a brief period of history there was a window of opportunity. A moment where history itself stood on the apex of change. In that brief glimpse of eternity where a choice made in a single instant is combined with thousands just like it to form the tapestry of time Rome had its chance. The goddess of Fate, the angels of Fortune, the forces of Chance and the diviner of Destiny each closed itself to the Roman chapter. The Wings of Glory that had descended like heavenly bodies to uplift Rome surrendered its hold as her power and memory crumbled with the walls of the Colosseum.
As it was then, so it is now. And so we continue as a civilization, millions of individuals in a broken shell of the past as we walk like hollow wights into the veiled mists of tomorrow. The choice is simple. The choice is yours. The choice, is now.
*I'm not upset in any way, shape or form. I just wanted to write a little something different, but I realize how politically charged topics can come across aggressive in written text. ENJOY! :)*
Responsibility. Notions of self-respect and worth. Pride and integrity. Words in the wind, all of them. It seems as if the idea of boldly making decisions has given way to halfhearted notions of timidity. From our athletes to our presidents, from our school children to the people who teach them I tell you this now:
"The line must be drawn here! This far! No further!" - Patrick Stewart, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: First Contact
I remember being a child who had no notion of honesty, integrity, or the value of truth. When confronted I would lie. When in trouble I would lie. Ultimately, I would even lie to myself. I would concoct these excuses and delude myself into thinking things that were not true. It was a practice in futility and self-destruction. It took a few years of growing up and some internal struggles for me to realize what I was and make the conscious decision to become something different. Something better. With that I come about to the topic at hand.
The United States is a nation in decline. We make excuses for ourselves and the behaviors we condone. Or worse yet, we lie to ourselves to comfort the darkness that broods inside us. Like an open wound, we pour our momentary pleasures and self-gratification into souls deprived of their Light. Nonsense you say. Ignorance I retort. This is not some philosophical writing of human existentialism. I am talking about who you are. What defines you as an individual. Your ability to stand on your own and live a life of happiness free from the mundane frivolities we busy ourselves with on a daily basis. Dismiss me if you will, but think of my words in your deepest moments of solitude. When you are all alone. In the night. Where no one will see you crumble. Where no one will hear your cries.
I draw parallels between the decline of the American nation with the fall of the Roman Empire in the first centuries of the currently accepted Gregorian calendar. Historians, scholars and amateurs alike have dissected, discussed, and dismissed countless explanations as to why the Roman Empire finally collapsed, if it ever truly did.
Flavius Vegetius Renatus,a writer in the Late Roman Empire, wrote a work that became famous as the lone surviving work of the Roman martial system. In it, he decried the laxity with which the Roman army had debased itself to. The "Germanization" as he called it, wherein the Roman legions began to rely more heavily on foreign mercenaries led to the cultural "barbarization" of the entire Legionary Corps. This in turn led to the breakdown of discipline in the ranks, increased complacency in their task of defending the vast borders of the Empire and the formation of independent loyalties to specific Commanders instead of the Roman government, and, in turn, the people.
More significant still was the loss of civic virtue amongst the actual citizenry: "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay," wrote Edward Gibbon. He could have been writing about the present. The causes of destruction were varied and multiplied over time. With this passage came the increased detachment between citizen and citizenship. Fewer and fewer were willing to take up the mantle of responsibility and hold the line against increased complacency. Thus, there came a point when the artifices that held an empire cracked under the strain, and the blind were illuminated in the fires of their own destruction. The truth of words spoken over two hundred years ago ring through to the present. As it was then, so it is now. The fall of an Empire.
As societies become more complex they tend to complicate the very problems they seek to solve. Social complexity can include different social and economic roles for people, an increased reliance on symbolic and abstract communication as well as the creation and growth of a new class of information producers and analysts who are not involved in primary resource production. Such complexity requires a substantial investment in resources, energy and wealth, in order to support. Thus when a society like Rome, or the United States today, confronts a problem it tends to create a labyrinthine process of bureaucracy, excess infrastructure, or unnecessary social class to address the challenge. Moreover, this new class lends to the impression that a solution is being worked on. It is the illusion of security and progress that now interest society as opposed to actual decision-making.
The economic decline, militaristic expansion, depopulation of the country's interior, increased immigration into the cities without citizenship, dependency on deficit spending for the military, the rapid expansion of bureaucracy and public corruption, the neutering of the military due to political ineptness, the lack of a real leader in recent decades — a series of misfortunes which proved catastrophic in combination. Wait, am I talking about Rome or the United States?
However, the problems came from outside of Roman territory as well as within. In addition to the wealthy investing more into bureaucratic expenditures and less on infrastructure, there were two serious problems the Romans faced: The Sassanid Empire in the East, and the Germanic tribes along the north. These were not the same tribes that Rome had swept away during the Pax Romana. Due to increased contact with Rome, in both cultural and economic terms, a dramatic shift took place. Disparities in wealth led to a ruling class and the cohesion of the Germanic tribes into a Federation which led to a much more cohesive and formidable opponent for Rome to contend with. With the Sassanid threat looming their was unprecedented immigration at the end of the 4th century which led to new extreme pressures on the Roman government to deal with.
The global war on terror is a drain on this country's resources. Properly channeled and unleashed the American military can act as a precise surgical instrument or a blunt hammer of destruction, but caught in the web of political agendas it is rendered nearly impotent. Globalization and increased inter-connectivity has allowed America's company's and neighbors to exploit the vast potential of the global market. We have put billions in the hands of those who oppose us, and we have allowed greed to lose sight of our citizens. The free market should reign, but it is our responsibility to invest in the infrastructure to support the needs of the people who reside in this country.
For a brief period of history there was a window of opportunity. A moment where history itself stood on the apex of change. In that brief glimpse of eternity where a choice made in a single instant is combined with thousands just like it to form the tapestry of time Rome had its chance. The goddess of Fate, the angels of Fortune, the forces of Chance and the diviner of Destiny each closed itself to the Roman chapter. The Wings of Glory that had descended like heavenly bodies to uplift Rome surrendered its hold as her power and memory crumbled with the walls of the Colosseum.
As it was then, so it is now. And so we continue as a civilization, millions of individuals in a broken shell of the past as we walk like hollow wights into the veiled mists of tomorrow. The choice is simple. The choice is yours. The choice, is now.
*I'm not upset in any way, shape or form. I just wanted to write a little something different, but I realize how politically charged topics can come across aggressive in written text. ENJOY! :)*
posted by Marcos Redondo - Running For Hope at
11:06 AM
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