Knowledge and Peace :: essays research papers

Knowledge is one of the most important factors in maintaining a peaceful and free society. Knowledge allows a society to plan for the future, while learning from past mistakes. Many great nations have fallen into war and chaos because they did not utilize the wisdom gained from the past. Many societies’ problems were preventable, if people had used the lessons at their disposal and placed emphasis on solving their problems through the use of their intellects, rather than their weapons. A great example of this is the Roman Empire, which allowed many of its problems to grow and fester, before attempting to check them. The Roman Empire was a powerful, seemingly invincible, civilization. Rome thrived in glory for many years, a model civilization admired by all, until it started to fall apart. Many historians argue the factual reasons for Rome’s downfall. Some say it was crime; others say crooked government was the cause. Still others say it was the focus on entertainment and luxuries. All of these problems could have been avoided and peace would have been maintained. Yet, the Romans did not believe that their empire could fall and chose to ignore their problems, believing they would go away on their own. Obviously, that did not happen and, as a result, the Roman Empire fell. In America today we have all of these problems. Are we going to be next to fall? Or, have we gained knowledge and wisdom enough by studying the errors of other nations’ past history to maintain peace in our own time? In Rome, crime made it unsafe to travel, to sell goods, or to go to the market. The Romans ran the risk of being robbed, traveling from place to place. Today, in America, we run the risk of being mugged just going to the store. In some cities it's not safe to go out at night. Stores are always being robbed, vandalized, or destroyed. There is even a murder committed approximately every twenty seconds. Crime is just as much, if not more, of a problem now in America then back during the fall of Rome. We have the knowledge of Rome’s past failures, yet we continue on the same path. If the United States of America does not use Rome’s failure as a guide of what to avoid, the results could be disastrous. Toward the end of Rome, the government was, for the most part, in chaos. Every time the current Emperor died, there was a civil war to decide who would be the next ruler of Rome. The politicians no longer cared about Rome. They became self-centered, and used all their power to better their own lives. Luckily, things in America are not yet that bad.