The Way of all Empires

As most historians would agree, the story of humanity can in many instances be described as the Greeks thought of it; cyclical and repetitive. Of course many can hearken back to the cliche old phrase, "History repeats itself," perhaps recalling a history teacher or other mentor who may have used it. Indeed this phrase undoubtedly holds historical weight. One need not search very far in the history of any group of people before discovering clearly repetitive trends and tendencies. The Middle East is no exception to this concept. To the contrary, it may in fact act as an indefinite witness to it.

In reading among this week's most discussed foreign newspaper columns, I discovered a rather intriguing and somewhat daunting piece by the columnist Anwar Kemal of the Arab News. The title, "How to Fix the U.S. Financial Crisis," at first gave the impression of a small pleasant suggestion. As I read, I found it to be slightly more weighty than a mere suggestion. The article immediately began by referring to the concept of a cyclical history, bluntly stating that "The U.S. is going the way of all empires." Kemal continued by describing his suppositions that the United States has financially over-extended itself, to the point of endangering it's leadership role on the world stage. Drawing from the historical well, he cited two former empires of the recent past, as examples for his conjecture that economic meltdown brings political meltdown. The 20th century empires of Britain and the Soviet Union both illustrated Kemal's belief that economic overreaching, particularly due to extraneous war efforts, can easily hurt the international stability and political standing of even the most influential nations.

In light of recent years, I would be inclined to agree with Kemal on many points. Undoubtedly, the United States, at least at the moment, seems to be fitting the mold for the average declining empire. It fits nearly the entire historical description: economic instability, costly, controversial, and largely unproductive wars, crumbling ethical foundation, and growing international unpopularity. However, Americans should not abandon hope in their nation so soon. Even Kemal noted in his largely critical column that "There's still time for the USA to salvage some of its international standing and influence." Yet, the nation needs to see change before this can happen. It will have to soon extricate its self from those money spending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and return to a less aggressive and more conservative national budget. It is my personal opinion that the United States is in need of some serious self evaluation. A reversion needs to be made back to the traditional American identity. This identity is rooted in the tried and true values of financial discipline, investment in knowledge, and hard work. It is my sincere hope that our next president, whomever he may be, will make it a national priority to bring the United States back to that humbling position of cold hard re-evaluation.

This Week's Article taken from: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=115150&d=6&m=10&y=2008