They say history repeats itself and by the looks of it they are right. One only needs to read a little history about the fall of the Roman Empire to see the distinct similarities of how a "super" society goes about destroying itself. Not from outside forces, but from within it's own ranks.
During the Roman heydays, blood lust sports were craved and worshiped, not much different that the Penn State saga where the worship of Joe Pa and the money making football team superseded the welfare of their own children by looking the other way as they were being raped by one of their icons.
The Romans made almost everyday a holiday so that they had a reason to party and self indulge, not much different than our own calendar where the slightest event turns into a party from watching the sun cross paths with Venus to hot dog gorging contests. Back then there were vomitoriums for the over eaters, while today we staple stomachs, but in both instances still look for ways to get around doing anything about "super sizing" our meals.
The Romans thought themselves to be exceptional, no different than we like to boast about our "exceptionalism" as if there is something superior about the way we conduct ourselves compared to other humans. What is superior about being #1 in military might by having a nuclear arsenal that could destroy our planet 1,000 times over? What is so superior about creating an environment that is polluted we can't go outside for fear of not being able to breath? What is so superior about 1% of the population hoarding so much wealth that it equals that of the other 99% combined? If you spend some time thinking this through you might discover how absurd it is to believe that the ability to "destroy" is what makes a society great.
How can we know that? Just ask the Romans.
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