Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 2: Circuses for the Rabble

A few days ago on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the audience were given free watches and cake--to much inane applause. A while before that, on Martha Stewart Living, Martha gave away a free exercise device and a book--to much inane applause. Both shows, in an apparent attempt to boost their ratings, have a consistent tendency to give away "gifts." Add on to this shows such as "Deal or No Deal," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and older shows such as "The Price is Right" and their ilk, again with people acting more akin to chattering monkeys than humans.

By now, after this, along with the title, you can probably see where this is going.

This decline of America tuning in to such venues goes beyond merely being couch-potatoes. It is a startling revelation at how base the country has become. Just as in the waning days of the Roman Empire, the Roman people were given their gladiator fights, their chariot races, their munera and luda to distract them from their nation crumbling around them. As they watched there crude spectacles, they were oblivious to threats all around them. And they fell.

Now it is America's turn. Now it is American plebeians who gawk at their televisions. And these plebeians do not come from any particular social or financial strata of society--they occur at all levels. The bloody executions have been replaced by a large infusion of cash, but its effect is the same. As China and India rise once again, America wanes. The United States is increasingly in less and less of a position to stand up to them, to rival or even keep its preeminence over these potential superpowers.

Instead, the American people blindly watch their televisions.

See "Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 1: Introduction"