LESSONS IN HISTORY IGNORED (OR UNKNOWN) BY RIGHTWINGERS

     There are many reasons to question our treatment of people coming across our southern border, many of them seeking refugee status. None of the obvious reasons seem to matter to those people who stridently support Donald Trump and his party. Maybe we should consider a lesson of refugees rejected from entering Roman territory in the fourth century CE. Yes, I know conservatives have no respect for history either, but then what do they respect, besides authoritarian strongmen?
     The Goths, Germanic tribes living in Germany, were being pressed by the Huns westword movement. Those barbarian tribes, among them the Visigoths, sought to cross the Danube for the safety of Roman territory. They were met with grudging acceptance but often treated with extreme cruelty. Roman officials sometimes forced these starving people to trade their children into slavery in exchange for dog meat. Steven Miller would have admired this treatment, forgetting that his early forebears might have been among this group.
     This treatment created resentment which percolated into the Germanic members of Romes legions. Not surprisingly, this led to a revolt among the far-flung armies which led to the rout of a Roman army and the death of the Roman  Emporer Valens. This battle, the Battle of Adrianople, took place  in 378 CE. A flimsy peace was reached, which unravelled in 410, when the Goth king, Alaric sacked Rome. This led to the revolt of other Germanic tribes, among them the Vandals and Saxons, which occupied Roman territories in Britain, Spain, and North Africa, areas which still can not be pointed out on a map by Trumps admirers.
     Other reasons that led, concurrently to Rome's fall were 1) economic troubles caused by an over-reliance on slave labor and income inequality that advantaged wealth and power, as well as 2) constant wars and overspending. 3) The division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western Empires by Emporer Diocletian. The Greek speaking Eastern Empire grew wealthy while the Western empire was mired in debt. 4) Over expansion and military overspending, 5) government corruption and political instability, and the rise of 6) Christianity and loss of traditional values. While these early Christian's were a without doubt evangelical, they were far more beneficial than their present-day congregants. The early Christian's were persecuted by Rome, which created among them strong reasons to rebel. The later version prefer persecuting others, not in their club.
     Most conservatives would not recognize these lessons in history, but they should think about how our persecution of people fleeing for safety from Central America (because they are darker-skinned than Republicans are comfortable with) will effect them as they grow into adulthood.

Comments

  1. SidekickJune 28, 2020 at 6:45 AM

    As with the list above, if Trump is re-elected, we will see the fall of the U.S. for the same reasons.
    Leaders cannot alienate their neighbors and supporters and expect to survive either.

    ReplyDelete

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