47. Rome or Germany?

In a recent essay, talented science fiction writer Sarah A. Hoyt proposed that the United States of America will be seen by our descendants one thousand years hence as a new Rome, an empire where the modern-day equivalents of the Slav and the German were both equally Roman.

I think she's right.

Unfortunately, such a “Rome” cannot last. Because, in the long run, no empire ever lasts.

Let's look at Rome. The Roman Empire was nothing more than a body politic within which an single ethnic and cultural group, the Romans (an amalgam of Latin tribes) was able to force the Germans, the Slavs, and other ethnic and cultural groups to accept its own culture and laws. 

The moral and biological collapse of the original Roman stock destroyed this body politic. 

And, as the ability of the Romans to impose their culture and laws upon the various tribes within the Empire decreased, the loyalty of the Germans and the Slavs defaulted back to their respective tribes. In truth, they never were really loyal to Rome at all; they were simply “under the thumb” of the Romans.

And when the Romans were no longer willing or able to maintain their dominance, the Empire ended — dismembered by the formerly “Roman” Slavs, Germans, etc.

The same is true in our “Rome”. The United States of America was nothing more than a body politic within which an single ethnic and cultural group, the White Americans (an amalgam of European tribes) was able to force the Hispanic Americans, the Afro-American slaves, and other ethic and cultural groups to accept its own culture and laws. 

The moral and biological collapse of the original White stock has destroyed this body politic. 

And, as the ability of White Americans to impose their culture and laws upon the various tribes within the U.S.A. has decreased, the loyalty of the Hispanic Americans and the Afro-Americans has defaulted back to their respective tribes. In truth, they never were really loyal to the U.S.A. at all; they were simply “under the thumb” of the White Americans.

And now that White Americans are no longer willing or able to maintain their dominance, the U.S.A. is ending — an “empire” soon to be dismembered by the formerly “American” Hispanic and Black tribes.

Hard words? Hard truths. But reality doesn't care how you feel about things. Things are as they are, and no amount of anger or disbelief will change them. And the reality of human social relations is that propositional nations —“nations” founded upon ideology, political party, or constitution — cannot survive for long. They are artificial structures, imposed upon people from without, and as such will always fail sooner or later. 

Rome was a propositional nation. The U.S.A. is a propositional nation. Every propositional state is, in the final analysis, an empire — an entity held together by naked force.

That’s what Rome was. That what the U.S.A. is.

But there is an alternative: nationalism. I mean real nationalism, a nationalism based upon real nations — that is, upon people who are tied together by ethnicity, language, and culture. A real nation is organic — it emerges from the people, rather than being imposed upon them.

Thus rooted in the rock of reality, a nation can survive until the end of time.  The Roman Empire is gone, but Germany is still there.

A tide of nationalism is sweeping the world. From Scotland to South Africa, from the Middle East to the Deep South, more and more people are deciding they have had enough of the Empire — that is, of whatever proposition “nation” they have been part of. This new nationalism is not born of hatred but of love — not from hatred of the Other, but love of one’s Own. As such, it is entirely in keeping with the spirit of universal brotherhood and political subsidiarity found in the Christian faith.

We look back at the glory that was Rome and we wonder: how did the Romans let it all fall apart? My answer is that the decline and fall of the Roman Empire was unavoidable: empires always fall apart. In like manner, our descendants will look at us and ask themselves how we could have let our civilization come to this. I think they will agree that the fall of our empire was just as inevitable.

So what are we to do? If the fall of the empire is coming, how are we to survive? I think that the answer lies in nationalism -- a nationalism based not upon hatred but upon love. I ask you therefore to consider my words in the light of reality — the reality you see every day, with your own eyes, not media “reality” — and decide for yourself which mode of social organization has the best chance of survival over the long term: a nation, like Germany, or an empire like Rome?

-- RSO3