I was listening to a podcast and the concern was broached, “Has America turned the corner? Are we beyond the point of recovery? Are we in decline?” I don’t remember the answer but the question is one that I have heard directly or indirectly many times.
At school we had just reviewed the fall of Rome. This usually refers to the empire in the west and is said to have occurred in A.D. 476. The date is a matter of convenience. We want everything neat and clean. It wasn’t quite that simple. If you had been alive in 476 you would not have noticed any big change. The date is picked because it was the date of the first non-Italian emperor. From that point on the emperors were immigrants. They dressed like Romans, spoke Latin and ate the Italian food of the day, but they were not “real” Romans. The decline started long before 476. Rome struggled on in the west after 476.
In the middle of living life people don’t always recognize the significant events. Ask yourself, “Has American fallen? Has the acme of our culture passed? Are we on a long downhill slide?” Most people don’t care. They have a party tonight and a deadline at work next week. Don’t bother them with the status of civilization.
But some of us do care. We obviously are in times of moral decay and aimless social priorities. I have children. I hope to have grandchildren. As a reader who gets to teach history, I am aware of what a bright spot America has been in the struggles of history. Never, nowhere, no way have so many lived so well for so long. Is it over?
To be continued...
homo unius libri
Not just America but Western civilization as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI did not need to hear that but it doesn't surprise me.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace.