"The Arrogance of Invincibility" by Carl Clasmeyer

"The Arrogance of Invincibility"

Yes, it finally came to pass, the sun did become just a bright spot in the nighttime. They said it time and again but it never seemed to apply to them, they were somehow different, above it all, history, that is...and doomed to repeat it. Only now in a new way, as new as all that stuff that padded their lives in such a numb that put them way above all the primitive "advanced" cultures of the past. A past that they, themselves patterned their law, their exalted structures of government, and most of all their "better than" attitude towards any other society, nation, or group that didn't embrace "the materialistic accumulation of things" way of living. It obviously got way out of control. An out of control that seemed so in control, government that became business -and business that became the government. In short, the corporation gone wild, a wildness drunk with power, corruption, greed, and, oh yeah, all that "stuff".

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It was the Roman Empire all over again, and not even aware of itself, or it's shortcomings in the "big picture", or of its abuse of the rest of the world, and mostly, of its own demise. All the signs were there, blatant, you know, "the forest for the trees" syndrome. As in the poisoning of the citizens of Pompeii, only "saved" by Vesuvius from its own slow and inevitable destruction, America had its own lead, as evidenced by the rampant cancer destroying it from within, by the over-processed foods they shoved down their throats in excess, and by the "fundamentalist religious" barbarians at the gate, picking at the Achilles heels from without. The arrogant use of gunboat diplomacy to keep that flow of goods coming in to pacify their never-ending conspicuous consumption of things, and of energy to keep those things running at a break-neck speed that was sure to break necks, first those unfortunates that had what they wanted, then from their own stresses of keeping up with the horrendous pace of their insane society.

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Why didn't they learn that a society based on growth was doomed, as in their societal mentor, Rome, who's decay rapidly increased when their growth decreased. Like egotistical monkeys racing through the trees, hand over hand, limb by limb outdoing each other with speed and "accomplishment" until a branch is missed, so too the competition to exceed each other - and even the most consumptive societies that ever existed on the planet - finally took its toll. And what a toll it took. Auto-destruct on a grand scale, like a giant piece of cloth at its center being sucked down a drain, taking all around it for a final ride of oblivion. Sadly, all that creative energy funneled quite the wrong direction, for the most superficial of gratifications. Is it the plight of man forever, only "till death do us part" from this diet of dog? Well, at least now we're on the precipice of "maybe not", now there's a glimmer of chance to do it right, with no borders to bicker over, and even less air to breathe, maybe.

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At least there's no more politicians and lawyers to prop us up only to tear us down with their convoluted ideas of right and wrong. So too, the common man of the American Empire looked up to those invincible pillars of society, government, and industry - the real and perceived - that seemed so immovable and permanent, were just as fragile as the stone of the Forum that eventually disintegrated into sand. I guess the first shiver of fear - that foretold the beginning of the end - was felt when Al Queda took out the Towers, just as hardfelt as when the Roman's Varus and his 20,000 were taken out by the German "barbarians". For awhile, it brought them together, but a togetherness born of a common enemy, not of a commonness, and that never lasts. Yep, it was all there, all the signs of societal decay, so obvious, but they were so jaded by their own arrogance of invincibility that they didn't even see it coming...