Category Archives: Political Issues

Is Rome like America?

April 1, 2019 shahyan Leave a comment

Is America following in Rome’s footsteps

By Shahyan & Jr

In Rome the rich stopped providing money for the army and the army started to fall, and that was the cause of the decline of army. This was a reason why Rome fell, could this also happen to the U.S?

Rome is different from the U.S because we don’t have only the wealthy in the army, anybody can be in the army now.

In the U.S these days people become selfish with their money and do not like to donate to good causes to help others. Some of the rich help others but also some of the rich waste their money on valuables and after a while they start to be in poverty and want people to help them when they had the chance to help people they failed to do so.

If the rich stopped helping the army by joining or by providing funding for army then we will start to lose our advantages that we’ve some of the things we may lose is our technological advances and our large manpower causing foreign nations to invade with ease.

Rich stopped caring for lower classes

The upper class people like to earn their money and not give to lower classes. The upper class likes to keep their money to themselves and not help or give to others that are in need.

The upper class spends their money on material things and stop spending it on things that could help the U.S. this is like Rome because in Rome the rich stop providing for the army and the army started to become week and eventually they fell because of the lack of help the upper class gave.

This caused a large social class gap to form causing some hostility towards the rich from the poor causing a internal struggle within Rome trying to control the poor from rising up and causing a civil war. The reason is why is the rich stopped caring about the poor and treating them poorly.

Rich stopped donating to better causes:

Finding the correct program to donate to is difficult for people, and donating to something you like or agree with is difficult. The rich have the chance to donate to the lower class or better causes but they choose it and they like to do their own thing with their money, but the middle class donates to better causes and the richer class is apathetic towards those things.

If the rich did donate to these good causes it would improve the environment and how the lower class would be a lot nicer to the upper class, and everyone would be happy. This would end all the hatred in Rome and in the U.S the poor wouldn’t be jealous the Rich wouldn’t be prideful and cocky.

Is the U.S.Following In the Footsteps of Rome?

April 1, 2019 Cherise Leave a comment

By: Cherise Woodfolk and Nicole Feipel

Improving Our Country vs. Working for the Money?

In our world, more money equals more opportunities.

It’s the key to worlds others don’t have access to, you just have to pay your way through.

To be a politician it would be extremely helpful to have loads of money to spend on your campaign. How many people in our world today do their jobs just for the money?

I was surprised by the amount of people that don’t like their jobs yet go to them everyday just so they could pay the bills. According to The Washington Post “only 13 percent of people worldwide actually like going to work, 63 percent are “ not engaged” – or are simply unmotivated and unlikely to exert extra- while the remaining 24 percent are “actively disengaged” or truly unhappy or unproductive”.

A politician is someone who contributes in how the country is run. He/she is normally part of a political party which is a group that shares similar beliefs. Politicians have an influence on what laws may get passed. While also doing their jobs they may be pursuing personal interests, to increase the amount of money they recieve and doing everything they can to stay in that position of power.

U.S. Complications vs. Rome’s Issues

Here are some of the many reasons why Rome’s Roman empire fell.

The first problem was that overtime Rome’s citizens felt no duty or connection to the Roman Empire.

During the time of the Pax- Romana many romans were not interested in helping or improving the Roman Empire. Emperors became infamous in ruling authority because they would waste money on unnecessary stuff.

When comparing Rome to the U.S. there are definitely some things that the U.S may spend money on that one may call trival. For instance, Trump’s wall. Some may argue this is a good decision made by the government., while others may say it’s completely uncalled for.

The United States spending budget for the military is slowly increasing every year to 700 billion dollars.

Back to Rome. Rome suffered due to their Public Health complications. Many of the wealthy romans brought water to their home without using aqueducts. The wealthy romans used pipes to bring their water to their homes, lead pipes which caused lead poisoning and many wealthy romans died because of this. Some deaths occured Coliseum.

Since loads of romans were placed in the arena of the Coliseum, diseases were spread quite easily because people passes to diseases on to each other just by coming in contact with one another.

America’s Public Health is completely different, but much better. The United States struggles with drug addiction, mental health, and helping global health, though there are solutions and help available for most of the U.S’s problems.

The last obstacle Rome faced was their military spending. Rome spent loads of money on their military to defend their borders and block the barbarians attacks. Due to this the military spending left few resources for vital activities. For example maintaining and keeping the roads and aqueducts in good quality.

Americans military spending also quite large but for good reason. The accounted military spending is a little more than 50%. The exact number is 589.5 billion dollars.

Comparing the 2, the U.S. does spend a lot on the military, but we also have enough money to pay for other expenses which Rome failed to do.

Is the U.S. Next?

This is what you’ve all been waiting for, the big question of whether or not the U.S. will end the way Rome did. The answer is . . . no the U.S. will not end the same way Rome did. Why you may ask? Well based on the 2 other head titles you’ve read, show just how different the two are, and for good reason I may add. Where Rome failed the U.S. is flourishing.

By: Cherise Woodfolk and Nicole Feipel

Political Issues

How the US is repeating history- are we leading towards the same fate as Rome? Elizabeth Musick & Lauren Judd

April 1, 2019 811089 Leave a comment

Looking at the facts

Whether you believe that the saying “history repeats itself” is true or not, you really have to understand history and look at the facts. Truth be told, the US isn’t perfect. But are we entering the point of no return? Just like in Ancient Rome, disagreements are taking over. The government is spiraling out of control, just like the plebeians and patricians. Here is how…

Government Shutdown

The plebeians and patricians were the two main classes of the Rome. The differences between the plebeians and patricians caused the downfall of the Roman Empire. They couldn’t compromise or work together. Sound familiar? The US’s two main parties- Republicans and Democrats, are on the verge of repeating history. Could a civil war be in the future?

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting and disagreeing, and the consequences are showing. For instance, the Government shutdown. This year we have had the longest government shutdown in history. If the Republicans and Democrats agreed sooner, it would have been shorter. But the differences between the two parties contrast greatly and the impacts are immense. To illustrate, the Government Shutdown has lead to 800,000 federal employees left without their paychecks. Also, national parks had no one to look after them. Trees in the Joshua State Park died during the shutdown, and there are many more environmental impacts. The environment and federal employee’s jobs are not the only ones suffering from the shutdown. Everyone is affected because the FDA is forced to cut back on their duties. Also, the Smithsonian Museum and National Zoo’s have been closed. The inability of the Republicans and Democrats to agree is clearly having a large toll on the United States, just like it did to Ancient Rome.

Where Should Money be Spent?

Could the cause of the United States’ downfall be money-related? It looks that way. The Senate, Congress, and President can’t come to an agreement on where money should be spent. Money gives us power and using it the wrong way could end in a catastrophe. In ancient Rome the patricians had all the money and power but the plebeians were not happy with how they were treated. The Republicans and Democrats both have the money and power but they can’t agree on where it should go. We are at a standstill and one party has already gone to the extreme, as explained in the following paragraph.

National Emergency

Following the longest government shutdown in history, neither the republicans nor democrats have moved an inch to compromise. When the plebeians and patricians couldn’t compromise, a civil war broke out. Could that happen to us now? Well, the president called a national emergency which means he does not need to agree with the other party. However, I believe this made things worse because it makes the opposing party angry. We are following the same path to destruction that Ancient Rome fell on.

2020 Election

With the 2020 election coming up, Democrats & Republicans are still arguing on who’s right and wrong. From taxes to border security, the continuous arguments are everlasting. Both parties love to argue which is not what we need. Many american citizens say we should come together and unify ourselves for the benefit of the country. Others say argue to there is a winner. In Ancient Rome, they were a republic and had consuls or leaders, that had authority. In the USA, we have leaders also to make decisions for us.

Laws

Many people often argue what punishment should be. Life in prison, life with/without parole and other punishments like this, people have trouble agreeing on. The Democrats want to abolish the death penalty as they believe it is too harsh and everyone should have a second chance. Republicans however, say that under certain situations the death penalty should be allowed like for a mass murderer and serious crimes like that. Their explanation for that is because murders over the years have gone up, that is the best possible solution, so hopefully people who want to commit those crimes will know the punishment and rethink “huh, maybe that isn’t a good idea.” In Ancient Rome, many people didn’t agree on the laws. They said they were too strict and unfair. For example, being crazy at night and loud could result in getting beaten or thrown off a cliff. Many Plebeians and Patricians didn’t agree on those rules. Just like the Democrats and the Republicans don’t agree.

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/09/us/politics/longest-government-shutdown.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/15/17979224/2018-midterm-elections-candidates-issues-health-care-immigration

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/government-shutdown-explained-777734/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2019/01/14/government-shutdown-2019-the-real-impact–cost/#662378803b96

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/trumps-emergency-declaration-is-a-test-for-republicans/582856/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/many-us-are-concerned-lawmakers-react-trump-s-national-emergency-n972611

http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1569/The-Extremely-Cruel-Edges-of-Roman-Justice-circa-0-AD.aspx

Economic Issues, Political Issues

How Rome Fell & Is America Following it’s Footsteps?

April 1, 2019 1012515 Leave a comment

By: Edward, Scotty

Political unrest

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. The ones being covered on this site are Government difficulties, Roman inflation, and the size of the empire.

Government difficulties

The man nation was divided into two parts eastern and western Rome. Since they weren’t united and the nation was too wide to be governed by two people it was vulnerable to invasion by barbary nomadic tribes.

The western tribe had more problems then the east so it was taken over first. Apart from the invasions, they had a number of other problems.

Deceptive generals corrupted the society. The gap between rich and poor was too great making many citizens go crazy out of jealousy. The rich people were not interested in solving these problems and did not put their money into these flaws.

Roman inflation

The roman economy suffered from inflation. Once romans stopped conquering new lands, gold

flow decreased. Even though gold flow decreased, gold was spent by romans to pay for luxury items.

Meaning there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold decreased, the coins became less valuable. Because there was less gold, merchants were forced to raise prices on goods they sold.

Roman empire size

The Roman empire was too big because there were too many citizens and too much land. It could no longer remain a republic. No single empire could rule over everything Rome had. It was split in two and did stay stay for a couple more years but the divide meant that they needed to split power.

Rome wasn’t as powerful as it was in its prime which made it easier to attack. Eventually nomadic Barbarians invaded Rome when it was already suffering from the problems mentioned.

In conclusion, Rome had a rise and fall but that’s obvious. So will America have a rise and fall?

Political Issues, Social Issues

A Wall Can Cause America to Crumble like Rome

April 1, 2019 812025 Leave a comment

December 22nd, 2018, America witnessed its longest government shutdown in history. For 35 days, 9 federal departments went without pay; leaving 800,000 workers without income.

The result of this seemingly never ending nightmare was the quarrel over the funding of our President’s wall on the southern border of Mexico. Our President’s desire for his wall pushed him into shutting down our government to receive the funding for his partition on our southern border.

The Parties’ Points of View

Our President thinks that if we can block out Mexico then most of the country’s problems can be fixed. But the reality is that the majority of the crimes committed in the country aren’t done by immigrants, but native born US citizens.

Most of the republicans side with President Trump on these matters, but not all. They are willing to side with the President because they see it as the most fit way to get what they want.

Democrats on the other hand, rather use the money for more appropriate matters. Democrats actually supported giving money to border security, but not funding for the wall.

The Effects On Our Own Citizens

The standstill in congress between the Democrats and Republicans to pass an appropriate spending bill for President Trump’s wall caused our government shutdown, and left over 800,000 employees unpaid.

Most government workers were still going into work so that when they got paid after the shutdown ended, they would have a paycheck to take home to their families.

While the government has shutdown three times during Trump’s presidency, this has been the most catastrophic shut down in his presidency, and the history of the United States.

Just like Rome…

A major disagreement like this one is a telltale sign of failure. Sooner or later our country will split more than it already is, for a second time. Past empires, governments, and civilizations have failed because of major disputes between itself, and as history continues to repeat, we are on the path to failure.

A famous empire that fell due to a civil war between government bodies is Rome. Ancient Rome may not seem like it is similar to the United State, but in present time, it is. The United States have followed the wrong footsteps into Rome’s slow descent into nothingness. With our government shutting down, and the never ending dispute between Republicans and Democrats, America is looking quite similar to Rome.

Rome’s government split over time, and when the non-stop fighting between the two government bodies piled on year after year, 300 agonizingly slow years later Rome fell. 300 years, the United States have barely been a country for that long, but is still experiencing the same amount of disagreement between our government.

There is no telling how it may play out, but if the United States continues to argue and disagree between our government, we may end up like Ancient Rome in a hundred, or less, years. And if it’s all over a wall, I’m sure history would be disappointed.

Political Issues

America is The New Rome?

March 18, 2019 1047049 Leave a comment

As I started looking into some of the different American issues I realized we had a unique resemblance to Rome in many ways.

So Is america the next Rome?

Another civil war?

First US civil war

The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.

Great Roman civil war

Also known as Caesar’s Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations, between Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), his political supporters (broadly known as Popular es), and his legions, against the Optimates (or Boni), the politically conservative and socially traditionalist faction of the Roman Senate, who were supported by Pompey (106–48 BC) and his legions.

The war was a four-year-long politico-military struggle, fought in Italy, Illyria, Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Spania. Pompey defeated Caesar in 48 BC at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, but was himself defeated much more decisively at the Battle of Pharsalus.

What is cold civil war ?

A cold civil war is better than a hot civil war, but it is not a good situation for a country to be in. Underlying our cold civil war is the fact that America is torn increasingly between two rival constitutions, two cultures, two ways of life.

as we know ,By 285 CE the Roman Empire had grown so vast that it was no longer feasible to govern all the provinces from the central seat of Rome (which is like america’s future) so The Emperor Diocletian ,divided the empire into halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantium (later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed from Rome.

This kind of war is gonna divide country to two part which is like what Diocletian did.

If you want more information about the “US in a COLD CIVIL WAR” click on this link: video

America needs therapy?

Therapy is what folks need when they are suffering, when they are having serious conflicts in their relationships, when they are confused about their identity, and their lives are clearly headed in the wrong direction. Given that, I ask us all to stop, take a moment, and look around.

So first step is identify your problem like some America’s today’s issues are:

Health care, Education, Immigration, Free trade, War, Global warming,…

And the most important one is internal political problem which now is making America divided.

Should we call it United States government or ancient Rome government?

In many ways, the Roman Republic was very similar to the way in which the United States government is organized today. There are three clear divisions of power, as you will see below.

1.EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Consuls: Elected by an assembly; ruled as chief executives for one year; controlled the military

2. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Senate: Consisted of 300 members; chosen by aristocrats and responsible for foreign affairs and financial policies

Centuriate Assembly: A group of citizen soldiers that were members for life; elected consuls and drafted/passed legislation

Tribal Assembly: Citizens put into groups depending on where they lived; members for life; elected tribunes

3.JUDICIAL BRANCH

Praetors: Eight judges chosen by the Centuriate Assembly to serve for a year; two of the eight supervised civil court and criminal court

LEGAL CODE

The Twelve Tables was similar to the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments of the Constitution), but it only protected free-born male citizens under the law.

CITIZENSHIP

Given to adult man landowners.

But what is Differences?

Roman republic doesn’t have a separate judicial branch it’s included in an other branch.
Roman had a provision for a dictator to take over just in case something happens to the consul. Us doesn’t.
In Rome consuls have religious duties and the Us doesn’t.
Rome continued to own slaves when the Us stopped.

So I think it’s by no means a foregone conclusion. History doesn’t work that way. And there have been moments where the US looked to be in grave trouble and managed to bounce back. But we have to be really vigilant and defend the integrity of the republic, and defend the integrity of our system, and punish those who abuse our institutions and violate our norms.

by: Kimia Teymouri & Joshua Geiger

Roman America

Category Archives: Political Issues

How the US is repeating history- are we leading towards the same fate as Rome? Elizabeth Musick & Lauren Judd

How Rome Fell & Is America Following it’s Footsteps?

Government difficulties

Roman inflation

Roman empire size

America is The New Rome?

Another civil war?

First US civil war

Great Roman civil war

What is cold civil war ?

America needs therapy?

Should we call it United States government or ancient Rome government?

But what is Differences?

Analyzing the fall of Rome and how it relates to current events today.