Seen in a larger context, this is how corrupt empires end. They lose the trust and confidence of the population, then outlying provinces (states) begin ignoring or countermanding the empire's official edicts. Eventually the provinces stop paying tribute (taxes) to the empire. Then empire representatives begin finding themselves unwelcome in the provinces, even to the point of fearing for their very lives.
That was the trajectory of Rome and many other empires that followed. But if the fall of empire is followed by a renewal of our Republic, can this be a bad thing?
After the fall of the Roman Empire, we entered a multi century period that historians call "the dark ages." So for all of its flaws, the fall of the Roman Empire was not exactly a good thing for a very lengthy period of time. I'd like to hope that we won't have 15+ generations living in the dark ages after our generations are gone.
Seen in a larger context, this is how corrupt empires end. They lose the trust and confidence of the population, then outlying provinces (states) begin ignoring or countermanding the empire's official edicts. Eventually the provinces stop paying tribute (taxes) to the empire. Then empire representatives begin finding themselves unwelcome in the provinces, even to the point of fearing for their very lives.
That was the trajectory of Rome and many other empires that followed. But if the fall of empire is followed by a renewal of our Republic, can this be a bad thing?
After the fall of the Roman Empire, we entered a multi century period that historians call "the dark ages." So for all of its flaws, the fall of the Roman Empire was not exactly a good thing for a very lengthy period of time. I'd like to hope that we won't have 15+ generations living in the dark ages after our generations are gone.
The winner writes the history books....