Because I do it with one small ship, I am called a terrorist. You do it with a whole fleet and are called an emperor.
~ A pirate, from St. Augustine's "City of God"
What does the present have to do with the Roman Empire? Well, western societies are still following that line and are suffering the consequences. Hundreds of years have passed and nothing has changed. People today are making the same mistakes for the same reasons, even though these mistakes lead to disaster and collapse. You cannot build a society on a swamp, unless you intend the society to sink.
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. ~ Plato
At the end of the Roman Empire the Roman coins began to lose value, the silver coins contained less and less silver, and eventually the coins contained practically no silver. Money exchanged rapidly lost its value across the Empire. No society can grow from ongoing military conflict as a tool for colonisation. The Roman economy depended on conquest, and as a result more capital was needed to pay the military. Across the Eastern and Western Empires the Romans were hated. People were simply waiting for a chance to get rid of them. The military campaigns gradually changed from conquest to defending the Empire, and as a result the economy (Empire) collapsed.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. ~ Plato
The Roman Empire justified it's aggressive behaviour and military conquests by claiming that Rome was civilised and the rest of the world were animals in comparison, barbarians. The civilised world was spreading civilised behaviour into the rest of the world. Freedom, democracy... Well, not freedom - as the Romans had slaves. Not freedom, as military might triumphed over cultural diversity. Democracy? The rest of the world chose to get rid of them, but they had to do it by fighting back. Why did the occupied territories fight Rome? Because the Romans had occupied their lands.
There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. ~ Sun Tzu
When society is built on a swamp, is the road to failure and collapse built in? Yes, it is. The process of building a system to collapse, conditions the psyche to rebuild in a specific way. In other words, failure and distress are the tools used to form the next unit of social behaviour. Collective 'mind control', is a form of social and cultural programming of the worst kind. In physical terms each succeeding unit will increasingly weaken the probability of continuation. In a way these methods could be described in terms of DNA strands copying an increasing load of defective information leading to the demise of the species.
A conspiracy? No, it is stupidity and arrogance that leads the greater body to self-destruct. Any society that builds its own success on a wider destruction of surrounding habitats, will inevitably lead itself to destruction. It is a Cosmic law, a law of nature. A violent society will self-destruct. A society based on war and violence cannot sustain itself. Overall destruction does not lead to a growth pattern, it leads to destruction. Essentially because we are spiritual beings in a physical environment. The physical environment is simply the medium through which the spirit expresses itself. If the expression is to destroy the surrounding physical environment, then the core meaning of why the spirit is inhabiting matter is also being destroyed. Therefore the society self-destructs together with the degraded environment. It has nothing to do with religion, which itself has led countless wars. It is a basic law that regulates everything seen and unseen in cosmos.
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
~ Lao Tzu
What few researchers understand is the extent to which the ongoing internal struggle and killings undermined Rome, essentially destroying the Empire from within. This inward deterioration took place over hundreds of years, and the effect was to bring an end to the despotic system. The Empire collapsed, as does any body when it destroys its own vital health. Political and ideological groups secretly fought for power and control, key oppositions were eliminated. Truth and justice advocats were silenced, often brutally. Healthy critisism and discussion of the Empire were labled unpatriotic, and it was a crime to question the motives and therefore the greatness of Rome. The Empire stood above the laws of man, and above the laws of nature and cosmos. Rome was a lawless state, a law unto itself, able to silence all opposition through punishment and death.
Questioning something does not automatically create opposition, but the freedom to question can be labled a crime by whoever controls the legal system and the military. The state signals to the citizens that it is no longer heathy to question, when in fact the opposite is true. It is healthy to question, and in silencing that option Rome effectively destroyed itself. Human beings do not have a hive mind, and they never will function under the control of a hive mind. When challeneged with such an option, either they will become extinct, or they will overcome it to express the unique force most commonly described as free will. When combined with compassion, freedom of action is elevated to its most powerful state. It is the Alchemy of turning base metal into gold.
The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all. ~ Tacitus
~ A pirate, from St. Augustine's "City of God"
What does the present have to do with the Roman Empire? Well, western societies are still following that line and are suffering the consequences. Hundreds of years have passed and nothing has changed. People today are making the same mistakes for the same reasons, even though these mistakes lead to disaster and collapse. You cannot build a society on a swamp, unless you intend the society to sink.
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. ~ Plato
At the end of the Roman Empire the Roman coins began to lose value, the silver coins contained less and less silver, and eventually the coins contained practically no silver. Money exchanged rapidly lost its value across the Empire. No society can grow from ongoing military conflict as a tool for colonisation. The Roman economy depended on conquest, and as a result more capital was needed to pay the military. Across the Eastern and Western Empires the Romans were hated. People were simply waiting for a chance to get rid of them. The military campaigns gradually changed from conquest to defending the Empire, and as a result the economy (Empire) collapsed.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. ~ Plato
The Roman Empire justified it's aggressive behaviour and military conquests by claiming that Rome was civilised and the rest of the world were animals in comparison, barbarians. The civilised world was spreading civilised behaviour into the rest of the world. Freedom, democracy... Well, not freedom - as the Romans had slaves. Not freedom, as military might triumphed over cultural diversity. Democracy? The rest of the world chose to get rid of them, but they had to do it by fighting back. Why did the occupied territories fight Rome? Because the Romans had occupied their lands.
There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. ~ Sun Tzu
When society is built on a swamp, is the road to failure and collapse built in? Yes, it is. The process of building a system to collapse, conditions the psyche to rebuild in a specific way. In other words, failure and distress are the tools used to form the next unit of social behaviour. Collective 'mind control', is a form of social and cultural programming of the worst kind. In physical terms each succeeding unit will increasingly weaken the probability of continuation. In a way these methods could be described in terms of DNA strands copying an increasing load of defective information leading to the demise of the species.A conspiracy? No, it is stupidity and arrogance that leads the greater body to self-destruct. Any society that builds its own success on a wider destruction of surrounding habitats, will inevitably lead itself to destruction. It is a Cosmic law, a law of nature. A violent society will self-destruct. A society based on war and violence cannot sustain itself. Overall destruction does not lead to a growth pattern, it leads to destruction. Essentially because we are spiritual beings in a physical environment. The physical environment is simply the medium through which the spirit expresses itself. If the expression is to destroy the surrounding physical environment, then the core meaning of why the spirit is inhabiting matter is also being destroyed. Therefore the society self-destructs together with the degraded environment. It has nothing to do with religion, which itself has led countless wars. It is a basic law that regulates everything seen and unseen in cosmos.
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
~ Lao Tzu
What few researchers understand is the extent to which the ongoing internal struggle and killings undermined Rome, essentially destroying the Empire from within. This inward deterioration took place over hundreds of years, and the effect was to bring an end to the despotic system. The Empire collapsed, as does any body when it destroys its own vital health. Political and ideological groups secretly fought for power and control, key oppositions were eliminated. Truth and justice advocats were silenced, often brutally. Healthy critisism and discussion of the Empire were labled unpatriotic, and it was a crime to question the motives and therefore the greatness of Rome. The Empire stood above the laws of man, and above the laws of nature and cosmos. Rome was a lawless state, a law unto itself, able to silence all opposition through punishment and death.
Questioning something does not automatically create opposition, but the freedom to question can be labled a crime by whoever controls the legal system and the military. The state signals to the citizens that it is no longer heathy to question, when in fact the opposite is true. It is healthy to question, and in silencing that option Rome effectively destroyed itself. Human beings do not have a hive mind, and they never will function under the control of a hive mind. When challeneged with such an option, either they will become extinct, or they will overcome it to express the unique force most commonly described as free will. When combined with compassion, freedom of action is elevated to its most powerful state. It is the Alchemy of turning base metal into gold.
The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all. ~ Tacitus
