Written by Vito J. Delgorio Sr.   

Many pieces have been written concerning the fall of the Roman Empire and the comparisons to the United States in recent years.

The reasons for the rise and fall of any great nation are many. There are connections to single factors, but more people think a combination of such factors as religion, decadence, superiority, monetary trouble, and military problems caused the fall of a once great society. Imperial incompetence and chance could be added to the list. Even the rise of Islam is proposed as the reason for the fall, does this sound familiar, these are some of the factors leading to the fall of the Roman Empire.

There are too many similarities to the United States of the last 10 years that worries me, lets look at the comparisons.

Religion then was rising with the Catholic Church exerting influence over Rome, in the United States for over 8 years we had the right wing evangelical influence over our Presidency and our Government Representatives which still exists for some representatives today.

Decadence, today the United States has continued its decline in manufacturing and trade superiority since the 1980’s. Our democratic processes normally entrusted to our elected legislators and our regulatory agencies by the people have been taken over by big business through campaign funding influences.

Our Superiority in Technology and Science has been systematically transferred to our International competitors through trade policies controlled by multinational Corporations influencing our government.

Monetary policy and basic economic systems which grew our nation have evolved into a casino like economics where values are place on how much money can be made at the expense of the uniformed players through the use of technology in short periods of investment rather than long term investments. These games of chance transfer wealth from 99% of Americans to the wealthiest 1% of Americans. This must end. Those controlling the wealth of our nation mainly Corporations and their top executives are taking control of our government at all levels, Federal, State and Local. There is no trickle down in America. Today they are flexing their muscles by hording trillions in cash on their balance sheets refusing to invest in capital and human resources necessary to get our economy moving again. This tactic to prevent growth will continue until the political environment is beneficial to them specifically the 2010 election.

Militarily we have been fighting two wars over the last 7 years spending billions if not trillions of dollars. This drain will be the major contributor to the continued decline of the American society unless stopped and a priority is focused on the welfare of the people of this Nation. Russia is a prime example of fighting a losing war against a society based on tribal traditions, Afghanistan. This war bankrupted Russia and the people of that nation lost.

Rome was divided into two controlling empires the east and the west. The similarities are stunning as to what is happening in the United States. The divisions of the Republican and the Democratic Parties has widened so dramatically over the last 3 years with no signs of ever having again a bipartisan government. This extreme division has contributed to an ineffective legislature and less productive legislation for the people. If the houses of congress have split majorities as a result of the 2010 elections you can depend on a stagnant government until the 2012 elections and possibly into the future.

Complacency and lack of understanding on the part of every American must be added as a contributing factor to the fall of our nation. If we the people do nothing to stop this spiral down the future of our children and grandchildren is grim. Let us clear our minds of all the campaign rhetoric, read about and understand the candidates and what they really stand for. It’s hard work, but necessary work. Do not make the excuse that you are tired when you come home from work, if you have a job. Today’s network media is easily accessible yet not the place to get your information, you must read independent sources of information on the same subject. Then form your opinion and vote in every election it is a right you must exercise.