Knowledge And Peace Essay, Research Paper

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. However, it’s not a

shining example of how things should be either.

There are always stories in the newspapers about

politicians taking bribes, or participating in other

unethical deeds. Whitewater, Watergate, the

Monica Lewinsky affair, the endless political

back-stabbings are all blatant examples of this

corruption.

The Roman Coliseum played a large part in

another of the more accepted theories as to the

downfall of Rome. The Romans spent more time

at the Coliseum than they did working. This led

to poor trade and an economic downfall. People

were simply more interested in seeing a chariot

race or gladiator combat than going to work and

being paid. In America, our society is greatly

influenced by entertainment. We all love TV and

sports, but, luckily, our lives are not ruled by

them. But who is to say they won?t be? It?s

unlikely, yes, but not impossible. Lots of people

try to work entertainment into their schedules. It

could very well become more popular to just go

to a football game than to work.

These were not the only reasons for the downfall

of the Roman Empire. There were many others,

but these were certainly some of the more

important reasons; reasons and circumstances

that we also have now. Our crime may not be as

bad, our politicians not as corrupt, and our desire

for entertainment not as overpowering, but we

have them nonetheless. Hopefully, though, our

problems will not progress to the point that they

destroy our civilization as the Roman?s problems

did theirs. Hopefully, our great emphasis on

education for all citizens will allow us to work

through our nations problems and remain a

strong and peaceful nation.

We must stay on our guard. Many still believe it

won?t happen to us. Just because it happened to

another nation, under similar circumstances, does

not mean the United States will suffer the same

fate. It has already been shown, however, that it

can, and probably did, happen to some extent

during the Vietnam War. The situations that we

faced in Vietnam were very similar to those

England faced in the War for Independence. The

foreign terrain proved a problem in both wars,

giving the defenders a distinct advantage because

they were much more comfortable in their

surroundings. The guerilla warfare tactics also

frustrated and hurt the more powerful attackers.

In both wars it was unclear who was on what

side. This caused great chaos amongst the British

in the Revolutionary War and the Americans

during the Vietnam War. Most importantly, the

results of both wars were the same, the stronger

and seemingly invincible power was not defeated,

but they were repelled and forced out.

This was a clear example of what can happen

when a nation does not use the knowledge of the

past to plan for its future. History has a way of

repeating itself. The easiest way to prevent

repeating the great mistakes and disasters of the

past is to use the knowledge of the past. A

society must be able to learn from their own

mistakes and those of others. It must also be able

to use that knowledge to prevent blunders from

happening again. If the society is able to do this,

it will be able to maintain the peace and freedom

that guides it. Knowledge is our strongest weapon

against decay and our greatest tool for peace.