are people in the united states in general as corrupt and wallowing in decadence as people were during..?

Question

the decline of the roman empire?

I didn't state where I stood on this question, I thought it would be a interesting question to ask. Try talking about issues without attacking..if you can.

Answer 1

How can one reply without 'attacking' you? Your question is offensive to the citizens of the USA. If you'd like to re-word your question to something like, "Is the US government as corrupt and ...", then you may get some good answers.

Answer 2

I'm really in love with America, too, but Mohsen, it's okay to love your country, just don't LOVE your country, OK? You're kinda sounding like you have Battered Wife Syndrome...

Now, to your question:

It's not that all Americans have the same decadence as each other and really most don't have any at all. However, if you were to compare overall prosperity with other countries, you simply need to look at the birth rates. (The more prosperous a country is, the fewer births there are)

According to the CIA World Factbook 2007, the USA has a 1.5:2 birth rate, which is a 25% decrease in population every generation. If not for immigration, statistically speaking, if we keep this rate up, within about 10 generations, we would breed ourselves (or lack thereof) out of existence.

However, this is no different than almost all European nations, among whom only one has a self-sustaining population: Albania. So I have to ask, are the people in European nations wallowing in decadence?

As to the corruption, most of it is political. The People are generally good, but are prone to fear, political polarization and naivete, thereby allowing their "elected" officials more power, and as the saying goes, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Another problem with corruption is that we only have two parties, and as Jesse Ventura said: "When they talk about the two-party system, that's only one more than [Communist] Russia."

If all you have is Windows and MAC/OS, they can do whatever they want (Like charge upwards of $200 for their software). Kinda like Hertz and Avis: Their service and prices used to suck. Now with competition from places like Enterprise and Rent-A-Wreck, their service and prices are much better.

I'm assuming you read the Vanity Fair article entitled "The Sack of Washington" or the book it talked about, "Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America" by Cullen Murphy. If not, read them.

Also read "Billions Over Baghdad" in the October, 2007 issue of Vanity Fair.

Answer 3

Keep in mind that decadence is relative. Corruption has been around since man first stood erect.

But if you want to look at America objectively, and have the question objectively answered, then you'll be interested to know that the average American is neither corrupt nor decadent.

There are 300,000,000 Americans now. 60,000,000 British,, 80,000,000 Germans, etc. compared to our population's total. Consequently, there are more opportunities for extremes that are typical of an open and free society to be exploited by the American media. Consequently, it's easy to write off all of grass roots American culture as decadent.

Nonetheless, 90% of Americans wouldn't dream of exploiting others or being deliberately cruel, the two benchmarks of decadence. We are a generous, hard working and yes devout people. Not every one is Courtney Love or Larry Craig.

Now, apply the dual benchmarks of exploitation and deliberate cruelty to Russia, China, Venezuela, etc.,....and you DARE suggest that we're worse.

Travel a little bit. THEN opine about America's decadence..

Answer 4

I don't know about the States, but Yes, I do believe the West is corrupt, much more so than the States that are more religious in many areas. Especially the UK.

Answer 5

looooooooool...
US is greatest land in all around the world
it`s completest model of freedom
it`s more justistic and libral country in our time
it has the best university`s and science prodadting on the earth
every year molion`s of illness piople are geting beter with recearch of the american scientist
look at Iraq and Afghanistan.remember SADDAM & MULLA OMAR.look at the this piople and this country`s today.
they are beeing better
USA is not just a country...it1s the only hope of people of many ideologodal regim`s in allaround the world.
hhe iranians,sumalians,afghans,bermian
yes....
americas are not corrupted.corrupted people are the nations that vote to mad man to kill the freedom
and decadencede people are nations that plans to desapear another country from map`s

Answer 6

Some people confuse freedom of information and the oddities that become public for real life.

Kind of naive of them. Such innocence rarely results in anything good.

Usually just national, racial, or political bigotry.

Answer 7

Corrupt people are everywhere, not just America.

Answer 8

Do you think people who dislike Vice President Al Gore - will loose their sleep because he won Nobel Prize?
I bet hate-mongers will hate this....I don't know why republicans don't get Nobel Peace Prize? I bet Honorable Dick Cheney will get the peace prize next year....

Do you think right winger will tell that Nobel Prize committee is Left winger? And thats the reason they hardly win anything....except Henry Kissinger

Answer 9

Not yet, but they are getting there, and the end result will be the same.

Answer 10

All people are the same.....