Contemporary United States (US) and Classical Rome

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Contemporary United States (US) and Classical Rome
The age of current global cultures is said to be as old as the ancient civilizations. There is a conventional belief that people's way of life in the present time is not a discovery but one that was passed on from the old generations. The world's most powerful countries attribute a significant number of their customs to those of their past cohorts. These shreds of evidence of borrowed traditions came with advantages and disadvantages, with people deciding to celebrate and retain the positives while rebuking those they consider retrogressive and rekindling dark days. The present-day US, for example, traces some of their practices to other nations within the European continent like Greece and Rome. However, there are more notable similarities between modern America and classical Rome, than with ancient Greece.
Romans were typically pious people who practiced religion and believed in according respect to ancestors and traditions. The classical generation in Rome highly valued their convictions, duty, honesty, and courage, which formed an essential part in establishing their culture. People's lives revolved around the city of Rome, which majority cherished as it was the time's largest megalopolis. For example, the need to respect ancestors or rules set by them was a popular point of reference, and the people treated their directives with extreme adoration. Similarly, the virtues are seen to almost perfectly match or sound like George Washington. Contemporaries in the US are presently fond of comparing the former president to the ancient leaders in Rome. Indeed, he remains an icon in America and a symbol of an ideal leader (Seylar 11).
Also, the two sides characteristically exercised self-rule that emanates from a neighborhood level. Wallace explains that the early Roman government was interactive, personal, and local (53). Rome extended its authority within the Italian peninsula and beyond, enabling the military to realize that this trait was its powerhouse. The military proceeded to weaken the culture of personal interaction that existed among the citizens, which was claimed to have propelled it to greatness. Classical Romans earned the description of a people from a republic founded on the famous rule, local rule, and consisting of people who knew one another adequately. On the other hand, Wallace found the same to be remarkable and accurate of the US contemporaries (54). The author notes that local problems motivate Americans to form clubs with the sole purpose of finding a solution, as seen during past wars and attacks.
Additionally, both the classical Rome and present-time United States exhibit trouble from warfare that exists between commoners and the elites. The Roman people established the Senate after they had overthrown kings. The move to introduce limited was described as having marked an end to a hereditary tyrannical style of governance. Consequently, plebeians and patricians (ordinary people and aristocrats, respectively) struck a power balance that satisfied both groups. However, plebeians wanted more power as more wealth was gained through trade. As a way of fighting back, public land was taken by the rich for their use. There lacked the moral acceptance for checks for the good of all. Subsequently, a series of rebellions arose, which led to the creation of consolidated political power (Mac Sweeney 8).
Mac Sweeney further recounts that classical Roman politicians expressed the lack of interest to address political problems led power to the hands of the military (9). This relinquished power would then be used by the military to sabotage political operations by making politicians out of its generals. Although the US may seem distant from turning into a military dictatorship, there is a trend among politicians deviating from their primary job by deciding to answer questions on runaway entitlements and immigration, among others. The bureaucracy, in its entirety, operates the same way. A closer contemporary analog is evidence of the willingness of intelligence agencies to use state power lawlessly (Fontaine 148).
Besides, cronyism (also known as patronage) was evident in the ancient Roma, as it is seen in current America. In classical Rome, the distinctive affair was commonly described as client-patron relationships. The less fortunate in the society received favors and help from the powerful and wealthy men in high positions in exchange for votes, loyalty, and service. The practice was the source of assured support for either party and was considered normal among the Romans. In the contemporary US, on the other hand, the affair exists in the form of corruption. ...