Is there a trend where societies rise & fall--if so why cant we learn from their history what causes this?

Question

It seems to me that nations rise to be very powerful then as if its invisible something werid creeps in & destroys the society & it goes into chaos. Why cant some of the really smart & wise people get a handle on it & put an end to it without a bunch of blood shed?The system seem to come to a slow grinding halt in some mysterious way.Are people really that selfish that they dont care about anyone but themselves?

Answer 1

HOW LONG DO WE HAVE?

This is the most interesting thing I've read in a long time. The sad thing about it, you can see it coming.

I have always heard about this democracy countdown. It is interesting to see it in print. God help us, not that we deserve it.

How Long Do We Have?

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most ben efits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years"

"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;

2. from spiritual faith to great courage;

3. from courage to liberty;

4. from liberty to abundance;

5. from abundance to complacency;

6. from complacency to apathy;

7. from apathy to dependence;

8. from dependence back into bondage"

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29

Square miles of la nd won by:
Gore: 580,000
Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:
Gore: 127 million
Bush: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..." Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the
"complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal's and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

Answer 2

I was told by a world history teacher that ALL democracies fail when individual tax rates exceed 33%. It seems that's what happened to the Roman Empire which was stretching the limits by trying to govern the whole world.

While the USA isn't trying to "govern" the whole world we seem to be trying to save the whole world, or be the whole world's policeman, which in essence is the same thing the Romans ran into. Our tax rates are atrocious, and we're spreading ourselves too thin.

I agree with Paul, and will state that only property holders and the employed should have the right to vote. We should also imprison the lawbreakers (including lawmakers) who employ illegals, no matter where the illegals are from. Then put MOA (Military Operation Areas) a mile deep around our borders with Mexico and Canada. Inside this 1 mile "no man's land" would be mine fields and a 20 ft razorwire fence (to keep out unsuspecting animals from the mine field). This MOA would be patroled by drones, as well as ground forces. The land that is given up for the MOA can be traded in for other government land or just paid outright to the current owners. It's called "eminent domain" I mean hell the government takes half my paycheck to support illegal aliens using up medical resources at my hospital, so I'd be willing to defer that money to the MOA plan.

Answer 3

Yes there is, all throughout history societies have risen to great power and then fallen, think Alexander the Great.

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

When societies get powerful, eventually the leaders get corrupt.
Societies that are built on good morals and run by people with good moral standards THRIVE.
Once those powerful men, or their succesors, become currupted, the society no longer can stand.

The societies may stand for a while longer, but the decline starts when the corruption ends.

This is my opinion based on the research I have done on this subject.

I hope that helps,

Jessica - feel free to email

Answer 4

Ignorance and denial.