“The trouble was…many problems surfaced at the same time, some of them on a grander scale than ever before, and they proved more difficult to eradicate.” -The BBC

Not to mention, historians point out, this power exhausted itself in overspending on endless wars of adventurism that it couldn’t win as easily. People didn’t participate in a governmental system that was controlled by oligarchs due to a high financial and political barrier to running for office, and consolidation of power away from the people. Internal divisions became easier and more frequent, and there were economic factors leading to the collapse of the tax base inherent in even the greatest peace this country had ever known, such as a lack of responsible financial management leading to a weakening of the once impressive volunteer military and infrastructure and regressive sales taxes that unfairly oppressed the poor to support the lifestyles of the rich.

I could go on, but if you’ve clicked any of the links I’ve included here, then the cat’s already out of the bag- I’m referring to Ancient Rome. If you’re reading this and see some or all of these things happening in your own country, then that’s not a coincidence in my opinion, but I don’t think it’s too late to avoid all-out fighting in the streets YET.

There is good news, and much that is different. The January 6th investigation is capturing people’s attention on democracy again via the story of an attempted coup against our constitutional system. People are demanding action on climate change, which could lead to historic action (compared to nothing). People are sick of being economically taken advantage of by modern-day oligarchs, so unions are resurfacing.

But there is also much that is scarier and faster moving than ancient Rome’s crises. For instance, wildfires so bad that scientists are literally starting to call this epoch of natural history the Pyrocene- the Age of Fire, which may be too late to change. The Internet- smartphones in particular- are destroying our attention spans and ability to engage each other with nuance as people split into online tribes that enforce echo chambers. Water is drying up so quickly in many places I worry about water wars in poorer countries. Supply chain issues are so bad due to Russia’s illegal blockade of Ukrainian ports, people quitting for better-paying jobs with more work flexibility (which is largely a good thing, but emptied a lot of factories that were also being shut down due to COVID) and a pandemic we still haven’t solved yet that people in Sri Lanka cannot afford to eat.

Political paralysis makes this all the harder. It is literally the policy of a major political organization to inculcate an ignorance of reality and history in students. And the only other team that has a chance of winning- DEMOCRACY AMIRITE- isn’t innocent either. That's not even getting to all the crises and democratic backsliding abroad.

Whether history decides we failed or not is up to us.