Reading Response #2
As I read through the reading for
the week, I was looking for something that would create a question. Instead I
found one at the bottom of page 122. Strayer there asked the question, “are the
Americans the new Romans?” Now this is a subject that can be debated by
historians, politicians or anyone under the sun. In my opinion, I believe we
are in some ways the new romans.
The first time I came across this
idea was a few semesters ago in my Managing Cultural Diversity class. We had an
assignment to compare how we lived here in America with that of somewhere else
in the world. During that research I began to come across the fact that many
foreign countries refer to the United States as the “American Empire”. Some
newspapers just referred to us as the empire. I was very taken back by what I
was reading. I had always felt that the word empire was synonymous with evil or
people trying to take over the world. I didn’t know what to make of it, are we
an empire? A people that were hell bent on taking over the world and molding it
in the way that we see fit.
I began to look at what we as a
country have done since the 1700’s. I would say that in some ways, the United
States has become very similar to the Roman Empire. With that being said, let me
make it perfectly clear I am not saying the United States is an evil power
trying to take over the world. I am strictly saying that there are some traits
that we as superpowers share.
The easiest comparison to make is
that both the Romans and Americans see the importance of having a strong
military force. During the glory days of the Roman Empire, they had a military
force that was unrivaled in its time. There were a few nations that had fierce
warriors of their own, but the shear mite and presence of the Roman army could
not be matched. This is very similar for the U.S. Following the Allied victory
of World War Two; the United States had become the most powerful military in
the world. This importance of a strong military was now being seen in the
further development of nuclear capabilities. This importance was shown to the
world as the U.S. and Soviet Union compete of nuclear dominance during the Cold
War.
Another similarity is the conquering
of lands. Or in the United States case the colonization of island nations.
During the reign of the Romans their rule stretch all areas the encompassed the
Mediterranean Sea. This was something that was shared by the Americans we too
have colonized neighboring areas throughout the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean.
One thing that I found in the
reading that would not be something I figured was that Romans allowed conquered
areas to maintain there own religions, and culture. These newly acquired areas
could keep the history that was theirs in a sign that the Romans were gracious.
Of course, in time these ways of thinking would inevitably be considered Roman
ideas. This idea of being a melting pot is what the United States is all about.
People are allowed to practice all customs that are particular to whatever
culture they are apart of.
In conclusion, I do not think we as
Americans share the conquering mentality held by the Romans. However, as
studying history it always shows one thing, history does repeat itself, and that
these example help to show that we very well might be the new Romans.
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