"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
While Nero Fiddled . . .
by Micki Peluso
The Roman Empire between 100 and 200 AD
encompassed Northern Scotland and reached out as far as Asia. It was one of
four classified Empires; including Han China, Mauryan, India and Parthian
Persia. The Roman Empire stands out due to its ability to unify and cause major
changes in language and the development of lands conquered. It is said that the
United States of America is second in this endeavor. So why did the Roman
Empire Fall? The glory that was Rome fell by 284 AD due in part by what is
taking down our country today — greed, corruption and apathy.
As we watch our own great nation, once the
shining star of the free world grow ever weaker, inundated with internal and
external problems, one wonders if we are following the footsteps of the once
mighty Empire whose arrogance and refusal to see or care blinded them to their
own demise. Our country became the United States of America in 1776 with the
words of our Constitution written in the blood of those who fought and died for
it. That would be about 240 years ago.
We face many of the Roman Empire’s problems
and more, which includes loss of respect from other nations, mockery from our
enemies, little or no aid from countries that we spend billions upon, as well
as major financial, medical, and environmental problems on our front. Scandals
in government have scorched the integrity of our political philosophies. We
have backed down from stamping out terrorism when it first raised its ugly
tentacles in the 1970s; beatable than, not so easily now. Our economy,
dependent upon two-income families, has affected the lives of this present
generation of children, along with the ever progressive computer technology
which is both advantage and bane. We have been forewarned and educated in
problems needing immediate solutions. As a Super Power we still ‘talk the talk’
but fail to ‘walk the walk.’ Chicken Little is scurrying about, crying out,
‘The Sky is Falling.’ We don’t bother to glance up.
Can we be so foolish as not to see what’s
happening to our once great nation? The greed, corruption, and apathy are
snowballing into a massive avalanche that may well bury the country we once
knew. Cartoonist Walt Kelly paraphrased Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s
famous quotation, ‘We have met the enemy and they are ours.’ On the second
Earth Day on April 22, 1970, Walt Kelly’s first ‘Pogo’ cartoon graced the cover
of a magazine. His words were relating to environmental issues but aptly fit
all the problems of our times. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Magazine writer, humorist, and memoirist Micki
Peluso can be found at
http://www.amazon.com/Micki-Peluso/e/B002BLZ7JK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1435341140&sr=1-2
1 comment:
Thanks, Pat for re-blogging this post. The more that see it the better. I appreciate your time and effort is sharing my work with yours.
Micki Peluso
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