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I have seen a variety of opinions expressed over the years comparing American society and culture to that of the Romans. One of the most pertinent questions involves whether we will repeat the "decline and fall" part. I certainly see ourselves in decline, but I'm not ready to bet money that will be falling apart in the near or distant future. Cullen Murphy, author of Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America was interviewed in the latest issue of U. S. News and World Report (May 7th). This exchange was especially perceptive: You say there was an almost fatal parochialism among the Romans. Are we in danger of duplicating it? "I was looking the other day at one of the new Pew Center polls about 'what Americans know.' Americans in general aren't that interested in, or aware of, the outside world, and increasingly even our elites don't seem to put much stock in that kind of knowledge either. We don't have [enough] Arabic speakers; the number of foreign correspondents continues to shrink. Compared with the Greeks, the Romans were not passionately interested in the outside world. And they were often taken by surprise. The great disaster suffered by Varus in Germany in A. D. 9, when three entire Roman legions were annihilated, stemmed partly from ignorance about the tribes they were up against." Ed Nizalowski, SMS Newark Valley High School Newark Valley, NY enizalowski@nvcs.stier.org "Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life." John Muir -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------