People think America is in the grips of the “fall of the Roman Empire”.
But sad reality is that it’s more likely that America is in the grips of the “Fall of the Roman Republic”, where the reins of power were coopted away from the senate by emperors and plutocrats.
Coincidentally, it’s August.
Ahh, why are you so negative… and probably correct
Ahh, why are you so negative
The curse of studying history in university…
You’re doing it wrong. You’re supposed to watch podcasts by comedians or produced in basements
That’s what pisses me off. Assholes couldn’t even wait 500 years or something before destroying everything we’ve built. We should be in a golden age.
Hopefully we get goths this fall too
We had goths in the 90s. The millennials got depressed and went emo.
/s
Emo was like goth lite.
millennials got depressed and went emo.
I feel personally attacked
Possibly, I saw some scene looking kids at the fair last weekend and one dude was wearing JNCOs, another looked like Billie Joe Armstrong complete with spiked hair and eyeshadow. I think I saw like 20 kids with Nirvana shirts. 90s and 2000s alternative styles must be coming back.
Did Grunge ever really leave?
It’s on the Classic Rock stations now
Sad, but true lol
Rome nearly collapsed many many times, and arguably did collapse when going from Republic to Principate, , then again in the third century before Diocletian reformed the empire and founded the Tetrarchy, which then collapsed and turned into the Constantinian system with constant civil wars.
Rome was very very far from stable, and in fact one of the defining phenomenons during the entire period was a lot of political violence and class struggles.
Yeah, it was rather nasty even as a Republic. Even when they weren’t in the midst of a civil war there were moments where you’d have literal gangs in the streets being used to delay or secure elections, slave revolts, issues over farmland distribution that would often lead to starvation. Conflict of the orders happened - 200 something year long fight for pleb representation and political mobility.
It really was an absolute circus at times, and it’s romanticized too much.
ROMAN-ticized too much
How else would you describe the ROMAN empire?
Well, for the last millennium it was Greek speaking so… Romaioi-cized?
yeah i’ve had souffles do that too
I hate it when my soufflés collapse and turn into an ethno-cultural oligarchic military dictatorship!
i see you’ve been to my dinner parties
My brunches are prey similar except we have souffle pancakes and it’s acceptable to day drink.
I should attend one of your brunches. i make a very good collapsing western front. I’ve been doing the Parisian (coffee + hatred + optional cigarette) for a while and it does me good, but I’m always up for a change
Ooh collapsing fronts are great! We just keep things light and move back every time the Carthaginians advance. We like to leave them bad yelp reviews and gentrification to tease them as they pursue. They seem to be getting worn down while our brunches are better by the day!
just let me know in advance if i’m going need to bring the elephants. I cross no river without them.
Wouldn’t the Roman Republic be a more apt comparison? The US is moving into their empire phase.
… they’ve probably just had a lot more practice than the Roman Republic.
I came to comment basically the same thing. I don’t think it’s the end of the road for America even though all signs point to more dark times ahead. The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire both saw a LOT of corruption and strife throughout the centuries before they actually collapsed.
Maybe the last days of the American republic will see a lot of expansion before its imperial stage (that is now). Just like the Roman republic.
Me before Trump Term 2 Started: “M-maybe Trump is just our Caligula, and we have another century or two of peace and prosperity in us once he’s gone?”
Me After Trump Term 2 Started: “Oh God, he’s Honorius”
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They also spent several centuries in a state of decline and decay.
Trump wants to see if he can do it in four years.
The Egyptian kingdom(s) laugh while watching from the couch.
To be fair … if the Roman Empire had their hands on a modern technological military industrial complex and nuclear weapons, they probably would have blown up Germania and died in the nuclear winter a lot faster than what we’re doing now.
They kind of had their own version of the military industrial complex, and were pretty much the most advanced military at the time?
I agree because that is the main reason why they became such a powerful empire … but if they had entered into the modern industrial age with their military and even into the technological age … they probably wouldn’t look or act any differently than the modern US
I think you can hand the US’s technology to any country in history and almost all of them would act exactly like how a global superpower would act. Power makes people evil.
As empire it doesn’t have more than 80 years. Very pathetic.
lol, Daddy lasted longer. (British Empire)
with egypt behind him with a bigger club
I wonder
Did the Romans also declare History Was Over during the high-point of their empire?
Cuz the Americans did… A-that when the Soviet Union crumbled and there was no one else to challenge them.
We’re speed running
Things happen much faster nowadays, so 200 years today is like 2000 years back then …
Even time is getting hit with shrinkflation
It’s because the Earth moved closer to the sun.
Augustus became emperor in 27 bc, the crisis of the 3rd century started in 235 ac. That’s a 262 year run before shit really hit the fan. The empire reunited again towards the of the 3rd century, but more authoritarian, corrupt, unstable, … than before. The reforms that would lead to medieval serfdom were introduced then as well.
