The Fall of an Empire and Fate of America
A brief glimpse at the influence of Rome on America and why nations fail
The Roman Empire was arguably one of the world's most distinguished and influential civilizations.
Throughout modern history, writers, philosophers, and politicians have studied Rome's ancient civilization at great lengths, analyzing the proverbial wisdom, errors, and relics of the past.
By reflecting on the rise and downfall of the Roman Empire, one can hope to learn from history to avoid repeating it.
A brief history
At a high level, when viewing Rome's history holistically, it can be divided into three thematic periods:
First, there was the initial founding when Roman kings reigned for a fleeting time.
Shortly after that, Rome became a Republic following the removal of the tyrant king Tarquin. During this Republican period, Rome rose to prominence and became the world's dominant force after conquering Italy and overcoming the Carthaginians.
Finally, the Imperial era began once the Republic collapsed apart due to a civil war. During this last period, emperors ruled Rome until its impending collapse.
The influence of Rome on America
Fast-forward to the 18th century, America's founding fathers were completely enamored with Rome's unique style of government which had preserved liberty in the Republic for hundreds of years. The founders lavished praise upon Roman patriots who defended their government from tyranny in the Republic's turbulent final days.
Naturally, out of pure inspiration, the founding fathers modeled much of our great nation after the Roman Republic. They were sufficiently aware and mindful of shortcomings thanks to hindsight, which allowed them to retain specific features while modernizing to accommodate Enlightenment ideals.
As a result, relics of ancient Rome are readily apparent when studying our Constitutional Republic or reading transcripts from historical events such as the United States Constitutional Convention.
Why nations fail
Given the number of subtle parallels between the United States and ancient Rome, one may question the likelihood of our nation succumbing to the same fate and eventually collapsing.
There are many reasons for the decline and fall of a nation, but the most pivotal culprit and leading indicator is the nation's abandonment of religion. During the final days of the Roman Empire, culture eroded significantly due to a sharp spiritual downfall, resulting in the absence of faith. Historical instances like Paul's letters to the church of Rome in the Bible demonstrate this spiritual decline.
Logically, this makes sense when studying the collapse of documented civilizations because there is no significant historical example where a society successfully maintained moral life without supporting religion. The founding fathers were aware of this, which is why Christianity is the foundational bedrock of our country. The importance of religion was paramount to the nation's early settlers who had fled from religious persecution abroad.
Cultural erosion and the decline of family values
The decline of religion within a nation naturally has a second-order effect: the deterioration of culture and societal impacts on family values.
By studying the standard progression and stages of a collapsing society, we can extrapolate the following:
In the first stage of cultural erosion, men stop leading their families in worship. This deprioritization of spiritual development consequently leads to a rise in immorality. Their view of God becomes mathematical, naturalistic, and mechanical, furthering the decay of religious beliefs throughout a society.
Next, the population becomes overly materialistic. Men begin to chase material values like wealth, political influence, and military power. As men become preoccupied with business, war, and social status, they selfishly neglect to care for their wives and children.
The absence of religion and abandonment of traditional family values lead to men's sexual immortality. At this stage, men are no longer loyal to their wives and engage in infidelities and extramarital affairs in pursuit of satisfying their carnal desires and pleasures.
Consequently, the role of women at home with children begins to lose its original purpose and value. Women respond by revolting and demanding the same freedoms. At this stage, non-monogamous relationships and sex outside of marriage become common without recourse or internal shunning from within the community.
The influx of infidelities and extramarital affairs increases the nation's divorce rate. This parental separation ultimately leads to the decomposition of the traditional family units. A lack of role models within the household produces a young generation void of instilled values and beliefs, further perpetuating the cycle in future generations.
Finally, in the conclusive stage of a nation's collapse, radically selfish individualism becomes prominent throughout society, resulting in fragmented groups and loyalties. Birthrates decline, producing an older population lacking the ability to defend itself, making the nation vulnerable to its enemies due to a lack of sufficient military power. At this point, a collapse is imminent due to internal conflicts or external adversaries, like in the case of the Roman Empire.
The decline of religion in the Western world today
Unfortunately, most trials, errors, and lessons from our ancestral roots have been forgotten, overlooked, and taken for granted throughout recent generations. Therefore, we are starting to witness the accelerated decline of religion throughout the modern Western world.
The data overwhelmingly supports this claim. According to recent Gallup surveys, only 47% of adults in the United States claimed church memberships in 2020, a sharp decline from the 70% observed in 1999.
Likewise, the number of people claiming no religious affiliations has experienced a dramatic increase over the last few decades:
The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference. Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.
The fate of America
With the stark decline in religion, it is no surprise that over 50% of all marriages in the United States will end in divorce or separation. These days it appears like the traditional nuclear family is under attack while the number of fatherless households continues to increase.
The vicious cycle of broken homes is perpetuated since children growing up in households without religious roots and strong family ideals are more likely to engage in casual sex and "hook-up" culture during adolescence. As a result, the number of marriages continues to trend downwards as the new-age sentiment of "self-love" is being selfishly echoed and preached ad nauseam. This instant gratification culture is silently killing our generation, and we can readily observe the implications throughout society.
Finally, birth rates continue to decline in the United States at an alarming rate, reminiscent of the progressive decline observed in collapsing societies.
The U.S. birth rate has fallen by 20% since 2007.
A call to return to traditional family values
Despite the overwhelming evidence demonstrating America's cultural erosion, it is possible to avoid the fate of the Roman Empire.
The future always has an unpredictable way of playing out, and we have arrived at a crucial inflection point. An optimistic view is that the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction, and the cultural decline we are witnessing may reverse as we return to traditional family values in light of the absurdities in modern culture.
“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
