Modern America is not perfectly efficient - no country has ever or will ever achieve this. Some of its weaknesses and problems may seem echoed in the Roman experience, but none are anywhere near as pronounced. Nothing suggests that the United States must inevitably decline and cease to be a superpower in the near future. We ought to be glad of this, since none of the likely alternatives to this situation are very appealing. This certainly does not mean that America can afford to be complacent.
- Adrian Goldsworthy, How Rome Fell
2 comments:
We'll never experience a fall like Rome. However, with our rising obesity/chronic disease rates, increasingly divisive political climate, declines in social responsibility, increases in stress levels/decreases in patience levels, and high teen pregnancy rates, we are certainly experiencing some level of decline.
Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest!
Deron,
And you're more optimistic than I am!
Michael
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