“The Roman Empire officially began in 27 BCE when Octavian was granted the title Augustus, ending the Roman Republic, and its Western half fell in 476 CE when the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer. 
 The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire survived until 1453 CE, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire.” — from a Brave search

There has been an incredible amount of ink spilled and books written about the Roman Empire, its beginning, duration, and ending, and anyone who wants to learn about it only has to get started. I found this timeline on Wikipedia¹ which has important dates and links from the alleged date when Romulus first founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. The empire “officially” began in 27 B.C, with Octavian’s ascent to full dictatorship and lasted in one form or another until Constantinople was overrun by the Ottomans in 1453 A.D.

The current American empire is often compared with the Roman empire and with good reason. There are a lot of parallels between the two. For instance, looking at the timeline linked above, I found that a large part of Rome’s existence was taken up with waging war, much like the pattern America developed since its successful separation from the British Crown in 1776. Without getting into the debate over what constitutes a “war”, it is certain that in its growth stage from violent inception to the current war from Iran, the American State has often been engaged in battle with someone. Speculative lists of active shooting engagements run as high as 92% or more.

There is also the comparison of Rome’s eventual decay and decline over centuries to America’s slide from “top of the heap” and, while these are valid and hold some significance, I believe there is a more appropriate comparison with a different state, one which might bring the penchant for violence into clear focus–the civil wars in Tsarist Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Consider this. In 1917, Russia had:

1. A tone-deaf elite which held virtually all the wealth of the country and which held the common people in contempt.
2. A massive population which was on the verge of starvation.
3. A vivid memory of a major military defeat in 1905 vs. Japan.
4. Active engagement in WW1, from which the State had to retreat due to the chaos of revolution at home.
5. Huge philosophical and political differences among the populace.
6. A large number of factions at grassroots level who were willing to battle with each other at a moment’s notice.
7. Inability of the State to maintain control and order.

Much of this can be applied to the West in general and the US in particular. Granted that widespread starvation is not a problem (yet) and that the State is still able to squelch any viable threat, nevertheless the strong possibility exists that America will break down into an armed struggle between the various factions: Red vs. Blue, conservative vs. liberal vs. progressive, urban centers vs. rural holdouts, gun owners vs. gun grabbers, etc., and all of these fighting against the extremely wealthy who are struggling to maintain and tighten their stranglehold over the economy and government.

A long-standing Christian moral tradition degrading into feminist, homosexual, abortionist, and transgender camps. The trend toward euthanasia. Corrupt politicians everywhere at all levels of government. An entitlement attitude which supposes that no one has to earn anything. Success defined solely by the number of views a podcast receives. Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote, unless you think you can get away with it. Murders of young girls on subways for no sane reason at all. Anything goes, you name it.

What would it take for America to follow the path which Russia blazed a century ago? Are we already entered on that road? What will the country look like if we travel (continue to travel?) that direction? Or, is it more likely that we will follow Rome’s example of continual petty, internal squabbling over power and squandering of resources as if there were no tomorrow, while outside forces chip away at the infrastructure until everything collapses?

I’m no expert on this, but I think I understand human nature fairly well and I’m betting on civil war which hits close to home, the scale of which most Americans do not understand and cannot imagine. Once it is over and the smoke and dust have settled, nothing about America will be the same as before.

Interestingly, the other day I found an article which described three different types of persons who emerge as “warlords” when governments collapse and society devolves into chaos:

1. Those who try to hold onto the previous system and do whatever they can to resurrect it,
2. Those who try to construct a new system mirroring the previous system, and,
3. Those who are opportunists taking every advantage to solidify their power regardless of the system which comes out of it.

Reading this, I found myself thinking which type of warlord I would be if the opportunity presented itself. #1 is completely out. I am not interested in maintaining the status quo at all and am committed to replacing it with a better option. #2 is tempting, but my libertarian and anarchic philosophies and principles preclude that. That said, #3 would probably be my choice given the fact that, in understanding human nature, I know myself better than anyone else and, given my history, all other things being equal, I would not hesitate to use any method to gain supremacy, except for one very major obstacle: my relationship with Jesus Christ and tutelage under His Spirit which I will not surrender for any amount of worldly power.

Which brings up Option #4: None of the above. No warlordism. No support for warlordism, active or passive. No trying to hang onto the past. No trying to repeat the past. No trying to grab for whatever I can get at anyone’s expense. Naaaah! I think I’ll just carry on in the model set before my by the Master (perhaps looking to Gandhi for encouragement along the way) and doing nothing more than trying to love my neighbor, who might very well become my enemy, in the best way that I can.

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1. Yes, I know it’s Wikipedia, but the fact remains that there is an enormous amount of data here which can be used. Don’t throw out the baby because the bathwater is dirty. ↩︎