grgyssf

First of all I’m an Australian, but I pay a lot of attention to American politics. This is basically because Australian politics is pretty boring, has little or no influence on the world and we generally end up doing what America tells us to do in relation to current world events anyway. While watching the current election process I noticed the great division within the American political system. Initially I thought Australian politics was bad, but like always America seems to take it to that next level. There seems to be such a huge influence on this, “us and them mentality”, fueled by character assassinations, labeling and playing the blame game. The current situation in American society reminds me of this quote said by William Durant a famous American philosopher. “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars”Does this quote ring any alarm bells for anyone or is it just business as usual?im watching fox news right now

cocod

Yes and it is scary how cut throat and extreme that you could use the word etremist to discribe our political party system...And extremism no matter how virtuous and moral the cause breeds violence...

kurtk

Naw, it's business as usual.

speckofdust7billion

Who the hell is William Durant and why would I care what he thought or said?one man, one opinion out of untold billions--sorry, I don't disagree with you, I always respond this way to historic quotations from obscure sources--

Babe

Business as usual and way too many media outlets trying to fill air time.

illicit_sandman

Sure it does.But the vast majority of Americans have no interest in anything other than the latest cellphone,and what Britney Spears is doing.They have no idea of the precipice we sit on the edge of,and if they did,could care less.

mentat314

It's been like that for a while. Boring politics is better than cut-throat politics.Civilizations self-destruct when nobody either acknowledges or cares.

KRR

I do think alarm bells have been going off for quite some time . . . but no one can seem to agree on what the problem is . . . they all just know that it's not THEIR fault. It's blind selfishness with no sense of "the good of the cause"

prudicat

Boy does it! plus the stupid, stupid war, plus trillions in debt, plus, plus, plus. Creeps me out!

FyahooinAsh

That's how it has always been.Must work as we are the greatest place on the planet.People die in the desert stealing into our country in the dead of night. We can't be that bad.Don't hear of any rushing to get to the outback unless it is the steakhouse.