Learning about the last century of Roman history, I've been impressed by one fact about their decline. They were their own worst enemies. Sure, the Goths and Vandals and Huns put pressure on the Empire, but this pressure could have been brushed aside by the earlier Empire, when they were strong and united. The worst thing that lead to the decline is that every few years, some strong military leader or some conniving palace insider would decide that they should be emperor. Suddenly, it's Roman legions against Roman legions, and the strength of the empire gets continually drained. Near the end, no one wanted to pay their taxes and the Emperor couldn't muster enough funds to field a decent Army, and they spent more time bickering than actually trying to mend and strengthen the empire.
It reminds me of this country today. We seem hell-bent on attacking ourselves and finding trivial and artificial faults toward our fellow countrymen in order to scramble for supremacy in some childish "King of the Hill" style melee. All we're succeeding in doing is tearing down our proverbial hill and making the lofty heights that America used to occupy an ever declining hog waller.
Even near the end, there were people that understood the glory of Rome and longed to restore its place. Rome was an Empire that could be brutal and warlike to its enemies, but within the Empire, there was peace, literacy, and civilization. There was one language, and one law, and being a Roman citizen meant something in the world. They amassed wealth and built magnificent cities and structures that survive to this day. The groups that tore the Empire apart plunged Europe into a dark ages that lasted almost 1000 years and much of the knowledge and history that had been carefully preserved during the Empire was completely lost.
Perhaps it's inevitable, when you build a strong society with wealth, strength, and progress, people within the society become obsessed with rising to power and controlling the society. Many of the people that rise to power are not suited to rule, they only have one talent, fighting for position and destroying those that are in their way.
I see many parallels to our current situation.
