Fall of an Empire

So, this is my first guest blogger, my 14 year-old son! He is a HUGE history buff. We talk a lot about politics, especially from an historic viewpoint. He wrote this interesting piece this morning for me. Enjoy!

Rampaging mobs roam the streets, burning and looting at will. The government is powerless to stop them. They have enough troubles on their hands fighting foreign wars and trying, uselessly, to put back together an economy shattered by war and government projects. Currency is loosing it’s value. Rome is at the end of its millennia long reign.

The similarities between the fall of Rome and our own growing problems today are frighteningly similar. Let’s hope our fates are not similar, too. Rome did not collapse overnight. For some time the “Mother of the World” had been slowly decaying. But then in A.D. 476, Rome met an explosive, fiery end.

At it’s height in A.D. 117 the Roman Empire stretched from Portugal in the West to The Persian Gulf in the East, from England in the north down to Egypt in the south. Nothing was more feared than the countless legions of grim, disciplined soldiers marching across the face of the known world. There was no nation as rich or well-educated on the planet. What could cause this immense superpower to fall so violently as to alter the course of history?

Money was diverted from the military to other government programs. Rome’s once massive military was cut to become essentially a peace-keeping force. The government leaders also were constantly fighting amongst themselves. Their economy was falling apart in front of them. The final blow came when the impossible occurred—barbarian invasion. They not only destroyed half of what was left of the Roman military, but they burned Rome to the ground. With no more central power the empire broke up into countless warring kingdoms. Could this happen today? It looks like we’re well on our way.

We need a leader who can get us out of this dire situation we’re in. Again we can look at Rome for an example. Julius Caesar had many qualities of an excellent leader. He was a people person. The people liked him and they knew him. He wasn’t just “what’s his name who lives in that big house up the road.” He did what he said he would do, or at least did absolutely everything in his power to try. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, he wasn’t afraid. Julius Caesar feared nothing. He didn’t fear the enemy, he didn’t fear the government, and he didn’t fear the people. Because of this he wasn’t afraid to do what was right, even if it wasn’t popular. We need someone like that. We need another Julius Caesar.

(Note: Not necessarily saying we need the same government as Caesar, but just a leader with the same leadership qualities)