My wife and I were watching a show on TV the other day that was examining the technological achievements of earlier, less developed times. Not surprisingly, they did a segment on the Romans, who did do some amazing feats of architecture and engineering 2,000 years ago. They chose to focus on the Colosseum of Rome. It was a stunning piece of work. I cannot argue that. What disturbed me, though, was the glib way they lauded Roman architects and engineers who created such an entertaining spectacle for the populace while making no real effort to decry the butchery that was at the heart of it all. Some estimate that some 500,000 people died there, along with over a million animals. 9,000 animals were killed during the inauguration of the stadium, an event that the show's hosts felt 'outshone' the spectacle associated with the beginning of the modern Olympic Games. How they can compare such disparate deeds without being sickened by all the killing is beyond me. They also remarked on how it was a clever and original idea to control the populace by keeping them entertained. At what cost? I find it symptomatic of the violence which I believe lies at the very troubled heart of modern American culture. Looks to me like our government has decided to employ similar methods for controlling our own citizens, and it is working quite well...
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