Blog 5: Are We Rome?

"Are We Rome?" asks the opening to chapter three of our text. Perhaps the most interesting element of this question is the "We". The text goes on to explain the "We" is the United States, yet my thought is why does the United States have to be the "We"? Certainly, we are a dominant force in the world, but we are not the only dominating force. Europe still carries much weight in the ways of our world, Russia holds many cards in the way of military power. China has a population and economy growing so dramatically that Mandarin Chinese is considered the up-and-coming language of business. However, Strayer seems to ignore all these world powers to address only the United States.

While I understand the question, I find it naive. Immigration, legal and otherwise, has fallen dramatically over the last fifty or so years, as other cultures of the world recognize the flaws in our systems. America is drawing it's hands out of the many pots we were once eager to explore when it comes to military influence in foreign lands. We no longer make much of anything compared to one hundred years ago.

If we are Rome, assuming Strayer is on to something, in my mind, the empire has already collapsed. While there may not be a new empire to take its place, we no longer live in the glory of the old days, where America would always come for you in crisis, where we created our own goods rather than import from countries with cheaper labor, where the American dream still ran through the minds of immigrants throughout the world. If we are Rome, there is dramatic room for improvement.