There have been many
good roads to travel
in America over the
past 235 years.
They include
the roads to
independence and
democracy, the roads
to discovery,
progress and
success, and trips
down country roads,
paved roads,
railroads, the
straight and narrow
road, the road to
financial freedom,
the road to victory,
the road to
recovery, the
yellow-brick road,
and best of all, the
road that leads
toward home, either
to our earthly or
heavenly home.
However,
there is one road we
do ‘not’ want to
travel down as a
nation, and that is
the Roman road.
That road is
rocky and will cause
us to have a
terrible crash.
It is a road
historically proven
to be full of bumps,
cracks, potholes,
twists and turns.
The entire
Roman civilization,
along with its
actual roadways,
gradually crumbled
into disrepair and
decline, which
eventually led to
the downfall of the
great
Roman Empire.
The
United States of
America
has the advantage
and opportunity to
learn from history.
We may still
have time to detour
off the Roman road
before it’s too
late—before we too
come to a dead-end
like the Roman
Empire—but we
currently seem
inclined to continue
down the Roman road,
which if we do, will
eventually lead to
dire events for our
nation.
The Roman
Empire was in
existence much
longer than America
has been a nation to
this point, but
today’s world moves
much faster than in
Roman times, so we
don’t have any time
to waste in yielding
to common sense and
making a U-turn off
the Roman road.
This may not
yet be the end of
our road as a
blessed nation by
God—but we can see
the end from here if
we don’t slam on the
brakes!
The downfall of the
Roman Empire
resulted from a
gradual downturn of
their political,
economic, and
military systems,
not to mention the
decline of social
institutions,
including their
originally
established higher
social morals.
Barbarian
(people alien to the
Roman culture)
invasions and
settlement within
their empire were
the final doom.
Let’s take a look at
some of the specific
problems that
developed within the
Roman Empire over
the passage of time
and see if they ring
a bell in the
United States of
America
today.
See if you
can plug our current
‘buzz words and
talking points’ into
the corresponding
Roman problems
listed below.
For example,
words and phrases
such as increased
taxes, increasing
social class
economic inequality,
unemployment,
political
partisanship and
finger-pointing,
President Obama,
Social Security,
Medicare, Health
Reform,
urbanization,
illegal immigration,
intolerance,
Islamists, Muslims,
Jews, Christians,
Israel, Iran, Iraq,
Egypt, Libya, Syria,
the U.S. military
budget, war
justification,
inflation, a
devalued U.S.
dollar, the CRP
agricultural
program,
governmental
bureaucracy,
diseases, super-bug
bacteria,
over-spending by
government, budget
shortfalls at all
levels of
government,
obsession with sex
and sports, Mexico,
border fence,
crumbling
infrastructure,
unions, pensions,
economy, and
enormous debt, debt,
debt!!
Feel free to
insert your own
words and thoughts
as you read through
the following
‘partial’ list of
Roman Empire
problems which
brought about its
eventual ruin.
-
Increased
economic
inequality among
its citizens.
The
Romans
implemented a
system of tax
collection that
drove many
small-scale
farmers and
business owners
out of business,
which resulted
in more out of
work people
being dependent
on the
government,
which placed
even more tax
burden upon
those who could
not escape
taxation.
Sometimes
the poor were
dependent upon
the elite who
were exempt from
taxation.
-
Incompetent
political
leadership.
-
Incompetent
military
leadership.
-
The
implementation
of substantial
political and
economic
reforms.
-
Cultural and
political
dilution
(barbarization)
leading to
differing
opinions, paths
and standards
among a diverse
population,
creating
societal
problems.
-
Intrusion of
alien religious
ideas.
-
The Romans
fought with most
of the
Middle East
countries and
many other
countries,
resulting in a
strained
military and a
drain on
financial
resources.
-
High inflation
caused by years
of Roman coinage
devaluation.
-
Land was
withdrawn from
cultivation on a
very large
scale.
-
Roman society
became more
complex as it
tried to solve
problems,
creating new
layers of
bureaucracy,
infrastructure
and social
classes.
-
Urbanization and
overpopulation
of cities
resulted in
increased
disease
epidemics, water
and food
shortages.
-
An almost
non-existent
budgetary
system,
resulting in
wasted monetary
resources.
-
Moral decay.
Sexual
immorality and
perversion
became
out-of-control,
including
rampant
homosexuality,
prostitution,
pornography,
orgies, slaves
used for sex,
increased lust
for blood and
violence in
sporting events,
and other
debauchery.
-
Diminished
fortifications
to protect
cities from
barbarians.
Invasions
by the
Visigoths,
Vandals,
Germanic tribes,
etc…led to a
clash of
civilization
when the
invaders
‘settled’ within
Roman land.
-
Reduced tax
revenue when
barbarians
wanted to take
part in the
benefits of the
Roman way of
doing things,
without paying
back into the
system,
resulting in a
crumbling
infrastructure.
-
The empire
‘spent more
money than it
took in’ due to
the enormous
budget it took
to maintain the
military and
infrastructure
such as the
roads and water
supply.
This
forced the
Romans to
frequently raise
taxes, which in
turn caused
major economic
stress.
-
Additional
economic stress
was placed on
the empire when
a greater amount
of money had to
be spent on
social services
to keep a
restless public
happy.
This
included the
promise of
pension payments
made to retired
bureaucrats.
Does this
sound all too
familiar?
Comparisons
to our own current
predicaments in the
United States of
America
can be drawn from
all of the above.
The only
question now is…if
we will choose to
continue along the
Roman road…or be
brave and take the
‘high’ road of doing
what is right for
our nation’s future
and our children’s
children.
God, and the
future, awaits our
answer!
How
about we once again
try reading our
nation's roadmap for
governing, The
Constitution,
and God's roadmap
for life, The
Bible, to get
ourselves headed
back in the right
direction as
a nation for the
coming years ahead.