From time to time, we will be asked if the United States can be compared with the Roman Empire. Will the U.S. come to an end like the Roman Empire?

Actually, it seems to me that the wrong question is being asked. The real question is whether the United States will face the same fate as the Roman Republic. While the Roman Republic was not the perfect democracy, it was built upon many democratic principles which emerged in Rome and in Greece 2500 years ago or so. Yet, the Roman Republic fell to the autocratic rule of multiple emperors - a system that lasted nearly 500 years. The Roman emperors were followed by multiple smaller autocratic rulers and autocratic religion; and, it was not until the 17th century that democracy began to creep back into the affairs of humans. Even now in the 21st century, democracy is far from secure in much of the world.

So how did the Romans lose the democracy that they did have?

I think a strong case can be made for the proposition that out of fear of external military forces, they gave up what democratic rights they had, until they no longer had any democratic rights.

An op-ed piece entitled "Pirates of the Mediterranean" by Robert Harris appeared on in the September 30, 2006, New York Times which provides an excellent example. In the fall of 68 B.C.E., Rome’s port at Ostia was set on fire, the consular war fleet destroyed, and two prominent senators, together with their bodyguards and staff, kidnapped. According to Harris, "the world’s only military superpower was dealt a profound psychological blow by a daring terrorist attack on its very heart." The act was perpetrated by pirates and "[l]ike Al Qaeda, these pirates were loosely organized, but able to spread a disproportionate amount of fear among citizens who had believed themselves immune from attack." As a result, Rome gave absolute control over the Republic to one man - Pompey. The Republic never really recovered from this ceding of power.

I am no historian of Rome, but I believe that the actual process that lead to the demise of the Roman Empire involved much more than this one incident, but I think it is illustrative of why we need to be exceedingly wary of politicians who ask us to give up essential human rights in the name of fighting terror. If we lose our human rights, then the terrorists have won a de facto victory.

Someday, I hope to develop this history in depth on my main web site, but for now I would recommend the reading of the op-ed piece at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/30harris.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.