Dear Atheist Bob,
Is there a moral decay in America that parallels that of Rome?
If you don’t think so then do you think that morals even exist, and if they do, do they even matter?
What do you think these morals are based on? Religion, social climates and changes in human behavior and understanding, the survival of the fittest ideology?
Are Americans their own worst enemy?
Sincerely,
Roger in Fresno
Dear Roger,
That’s a gross oversimplification of the history of both Rome and the United States. It’s tempting to look back at Rome and say, “they failed because they did this and this and this wrong.” Here are the problems with the statement “Rome failed due to moral decay.”
1. Rome had a much bigger problem: military overexpansion. The empire expanded so far that it was nearly impossible to handle by one emperor. This is why Diocletian split the empire into two parts, the Western and Eastern Empire.
2. Rome didn’t get less moral: by contemporary standards it got MORE moral. Some historians blame the fall of the empire on the rise of Christianity. In light of this, the statement becomes, “Rome fell due to moral transition.”
3. Only half of Rome fell. When we talk about the fall of Rome, we’re actually referring to the fall of the WESTERN empire. The Eastern Empire remained for almost a thousand more years as the Byzantine Empire, until it was conquered by Muslims.
4. Rome had a much more direct cause of its fall: the last Roman Emperor was deposed by force by the Germanic chief Odoacer. Some historians look back on this and say it was a long time coming, due to the influx of Germanic peoples into Roman culture. Modern anti-immigration advocates often cite this cultural pluralism as a cautionary tale, though it should be remembered that the only tragedy of the Fall of Rome was that it was followed by the Dark Ages, and the connection between the two isn’t all that established. Human kind is doing just fine without the Roman Empire.
Atheist Bob
