Are we now in a similar situation as Rome faced in transition from Republic to Empire?

Question

The Senate failed to take responsibility and simply ratified each of the 10 Caesars one after the other on the basis of power and popularity, even though each was worse than the last.
Congress continues funding with overseas loans while passing token legislation calling for an end to the war in Iraq they know will be vetoed. They fail to act on impeachment because they see it as too divisive and expensive a process which only stands to embarrass popular nominees with great war chests and broad funding bases. The administration will inevitably change at this point and they stand to benefit from the power that has been usurped and abused when they come to wield it. Is it not time to move away from impeachment (now virtually a moot point) and to recall of Congressmen at the State and Local level on the basis of fraud?These are not matters of private sexual morality, the things that titillate and excite people in the media, but matters of Constitution and International Law.

Any evidence presented is sure to embarrass all the frontrunners, Democrat as well as Republican. I know many, if not most, would disagree, but an attack on another sovereign state based on false evidence as well as Human Rights violations at Guantanamo and Abu Garhib are clearly violations of international Law, denial of Habeas Corpus, due process, and treason in "outing" a CIA operative are violations of the Constitution which should be criminally prosecuted on what is public knowledge alone.

Executive privilege has been refined and extended to a level of power unprecedented in American history or provided for in the Constitution.

Long live the Emperor! and God help the people so satisfied with their bread and circuses.

I come from a family with a military history and strong sense of duty. 4,000 deaths and thousands more returning with serious injuries and inadequate veteran benefits is sickening. Sex scandals and religious controversies don't qualify as news in my books, it's nothing less than legal pornography, much of it written prior to the event or "crime" with only the names filled in. People here are unaware of the events and issues in Europe, Africa, and South America where news is actually happening.

Answer 1

Have you ever walked through a snow-covered yard and tried to walk in another person's footsteps? You can't always do it with perfect accuracy, but you can come darn close. I believe the analogy applies to the US where Rome has left the footprints in which the US is eagerly trying to walk.

The United States has already become an Empire. This country has almost never been truly a democracy, it was close once, then it turned into a oligarchy, then colonization began in earnest, and now the elements of democracy that are left are slowly losing any effectiveness they may have once held. The ability to vote has become, in the words of Karl Marx, “opium for the masses” which allows the government to provide the illusion of power to we who have none.

Like Rome, the leaders have given the masses entertainments to distract them from the real problems and to pacify them in order to prevent uprising. In Rome it was Christians and Gladiators being fed to lions and each other, but now the media and the news provide the entertainments that keep us distracted. Today it is young blonde drunks (Lindsay, Brittany, Nichole) and homosexual politicians who are being fed to the lions, but it amounts to the same thing.

Also like Rome, and to a lesser extent England, the US has spread itself thin in its many endeavors and has lessened its ability to care for its own citizens as well as each of its endeavors.

Lastly, a great philosopher once said that the most obvious sign that an empire is about to fall is that its citizens are needlessly rude to one another. This rudeness is prevalent in the US; it’s rarer to find kindness than rudeness these days.

Although I don’t believe the US will ever completely die like its predecessor, I believe that the US will go the way of Rome, and soon.

Answer 2

Yes i am afraid that eventually a right-wing general might take advantage of Pelosi and Harry Reid giving up on the troops and calling them war criminals,and have a coup.Since all you need is a great speech and a lot of things can happen....................

Answer 3

Well, Bush basically "inherited" the position from Daddy Bush didn't he?

*Makes me think of Julius Caesar and Octavian* . .

America is starting to look more like Rome every day . . . You'll be calling Bush "Caesar" next . . .

Answer 4

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. " - Benjamin Franklin

Answer 5

we have already made the transition and are now on the decline.

the sun never sets on the American empire

Answer 6

Well, since there are no grounds for impeachment, I suppose your whole point is moot.

Answer 7

c.) consuls staying in power too long