[faithhopecharity]

Thanks! See my tagline too, ha!

[faithhopecharity]

Raises a profound thought that our Founders tried their best to craft our republic in such a manner as to survive the destructive forces that brought down the Roman republic and turned Rome into a brutal oppressive dictstorship. Too bad they failed

[Cincinatus]

Many writers for a long time have compared America to Rome, usually in the alleged parallel of a supposed acquisition of an "empire." On that basis, it's a strange comparison, considering that Rome exploited its conquests for gold and slaves whereas we funnel money and blood into our "colonial acquisitions."

A better analog might be with the fall of the Roman republic. Two factions ("parties") vied for political control of the state in the first century BC -- the Optimates (the Roman "establishment" patricians who thought that control of the state was best left to the social betters) and the Populares (prominent citizens who thought the same, but used the emotions of the mob to assure their control on power). Populist demagogues threw public spectacles to win adherents. Patrician senators raised armies, marched on Rome and assumed dictatorial power and proscribed their opponents (i.e., killed and took the property of their enemies). The mindless mob was pacified with gladiatorial games and public feasts. A constant propaganda war was waged in the public "media" of the time (the courts, the forum and the games).

It wasn't the empire that destroyed the republic -- it was the corruption of the people, who stopped believing in it and looked to a strong man, a savior who would wash away the corruption of the old republic and "fix things."

[NonValueAdded]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

[gattaca]

ping

[livius]

I’m reading this now on my kindle and it’s excellent. It’s hard for me to remember that this is the same Cicero I hated in school when we were laboring through Latin!