Professional Documents
Culture Documents
18, 2011
Signs of National Decay
Empires, vast powerhouses of wealth, prosperity and privilege, rise and fall in history. In hindsight,
historians often point to major battles, changes in rulers or other socio‐economic causes as being clear
evidence that the empire in question as about to fall, change forever. However, sometimes there are
reasons which only come to light with new evidence, new science. And sometimes there were other
signs which, when seen in context of events played out in the political and war arena, become obvious
predictors as well.
Some say the Roman Empire fell in 472 AD with the arrival of the Goths in Rome. Others say it
happened earlier in 330 AD when Constantine renamed Byzantium as New Rome and made it his capital
of the eastern Roman Empire (Constantinople, now called Istanbul). However, research carried out on
the carefully dated skeletal remains of those centuries show clear evidence that lead poisoning (which
blocks neural pathways) became more and more rampant. Why lead? As Rome became more affluent,
wooden and pottery plates and bowls were replaced with shiny pewter made with lead. With every
meal they were poisoning themselves and their children, creating an IQ drop of catastrophic
proportions. The more affluent and influential the family, the better the dinner service, the more
rampant the poisoning. And you just know that the up‐and‐coming families wanted to beat the Jones –
and get that pewter dinner set.
Also, recent studies have been made of the cultural events of ancient Rome which clearly show a
dumbing down trend as well: a change from theater (inherited from the Greeks) towards blood sports
and later sporting events. Larger and larger arenas were built, tracks for racing, stadiums for wrestling
and acrobatics. Entertainment for the masses was born in Rome, with sports increasingly taking the lead
as the decline of their empire loomed.
Many shows and news items have featured the dietary problems in America and around the world
(Britain is actually worse for children’s obesity than America). Doctors explain that obesity inhibits brain
function to some degree. What is more alarming is that the chemicals in manufactured food and drink
do the same thing, only to a larger degree. Aluminum is known to block neural pathways as well (which
is why you should not use anti‐perspirant with aluminum – it has been linked to Alzheimers). Aluminum
(pots, pans, ingredients, food packaging) and additive chemicals cooked into our food are perhaps our
country’s pewter. They certainly do not help with general health.
And there is another sign of decay to our country’s greatness: On the 220‐plus cable channels
currently available in the US, there are entertainment channels, news channels, Factual/Reality
channels, Kids channels, Lifestyle channels, Music channels and Sports channels. If you look at the
programming on each channel and the audience figures for each show, 61% of all viewing
(people/hours) is sports in America. Sports are now the single greatest form of entertainment in
America on TV and in person. In the ‘50s these numbers were reversed with only 40% of all
entertainment being sports. But now… for example, every weekend, more people go to NASCAR races
than go to football in season. But remember, more people now go to football games every weekend
than see all plays in a year, total, nationwide.
Want a perfect example of the country going to the dogs? Here’s just one small deal, only one state
university, with one cable company: The University of Texas has signed a $300 million deal with ESPN
for broadcasting just Texas Longhorn sports events. George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN, called the
deal "a testament to the school's remarkable, tradition‐rich success and widespread, devoted fan base.”
What George means is that EPSN can tap into those fans for advertising revenue because he knows they
will be glued to the box. Oh, and they will be sure to advertise food and drink, loads of it, already
prepared in boxes, all set to consume (never leaving the couch). And let’s not forget the anti‐perspirant
commercials they will feature while viewers watch sweaty combatants in the arenas.
Centuries from now, some historian will shake his head and wonder why such a smart society could
have been so blind to events so obvious.