Empires and states never last forever. As a history major a question has always been in the back of my mind; if past world powers at some point couldn't last, when will the USA stop being the USA? Macedonia lasted over 900 years Roman empire about 1,500 years Persian empire 220 years Ottoman empire over 600 years Of course the easy answer is modern technology will keep us above the fray, but at the height of all the empires listed and countless others, they had the highest in technological advances. But it time, it didn't matter. We haven't been a country for 250 years yet, civilizations that lasted 3 or 4 times that length still didn't last forever. It won't happen in our lifetime, or even in the next several hundred years, but I'm pretty convinced at some point in time, where we're living won't be called the United States of America anymore. Wondering people's thoughts and what they think of what I think will be an eventual outcome, no more USA.
Nothing lasts forever, Even sweet November rain. Hate to say it but Macedonia, Italy, Iran and Turkey still exists, therefore arguement moot.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.svg this map almost looks like 4 different countries. it will be interesting to see how these regions grow in the next 50-100 years. i agree with you, nothing lasts forever. when it does go it will be a break-up that will look similar to that map i posted imho.
lmao wow, that's like saying the Ming Dynasty is still in existence simply because China is a still a country. Please don't post on here again.
well yea because the land exists!!! the government and cultural society of the former empires is long gone.
We aren't an empire. I might also point out that Great Britain has existed for many hundreds of years, empire or no. The United States will still be knockin' around on this planet long after everyone here has met his or her demise.
Let me mention something in regards to this comment and in regards to the original post. As someone who is very enamored with Persian history, I must say that equating Persia's imperious history to only 220 years may be technically correct when only considering the Achaemenid dynasty, but the Parthians and Sassanians were two Iranian groups that took over the same core of land and propagated the same culture and administrative techniques, essentially drawing direct influence from the Achaemenids (the Seleucids themselves were basically the Achaemenid empire with Greeks at the elite posts). The Sassanians lasted several hundred years, and aside from a few changes in policy and a substantial loss of land, their empire was arguably the same as the Achaemenids. Persian monarchical administration, incidentally, lasted until 1979, and for an entire millennia no king was considered fit to rule until he had read the same exact books (educational reading on how to effectively rule) as the kings before him did. What I see from this is that leaders and political discourse can change, and often times change radically, but administration will generally tend to stay intact without any gigantic upheaval in industry and/or culture. Note: The Islamic rulers themselves, specifically the Abbasids (who were some of the most successful rulers in Islamic history and fostered in the Golden Age) drew heavy influence from Persian adminstrative techniques, and Persians themselves oftentimes filled in bureaucratic positions for these Arab rulers. In short, as long as America maintains a cohesive culture (and culture is something it most certainly does have, despite what some Europeans might think/say) and remains at the fore of technological advancement, its principles of administration (democracy, liberty) and its existence as a physical nation (50 States) will more than likely last quite some time. Influence and global power, on the other hand, is far more fleeting.
This is an arguable statement in many parts of the world (albeit a statement that I'm admittedly not willing to tackle myself).
This. America is the police of the world. I hope that one day the US will stop policing the world, and invest all of that money to help their own country. It is amazing how much money that goes abroad for the governments personal benefits, could benefit millions of people here that need it.
we got to stop scheduling wars against 'the Iraqs' and fight some real powerhouses if we want to get back on top and earn respect. China were you at? I agree with Chilcutt though.
I find it funny that some people think the country will just vanish. We very well could lose are unquestioned military superiority someday, maybe within our lifetime. But empires do fall without the entire civilization crumbling. The countries where the empires started still very much exist. Italy still exists England still exists France still exists Russia still exists Germany still exists Egypt still exist Turkey still exists These countries cultures have changed, but over centuries of time that happens to all civilizations. Empire or not. And we are not an empire, if we were an empire, Canada wouldn't get to be independent and mooch off our military might.
You don't get to where the US has gotten without "policing the world", if you just invest in your own country you get limited economic prosperity. Giving money to these governments abroad is what gets them hooked and dependent, easy money is hard to find. That is not the problem. The real problem in America is that the government has been bought by the corporations, they've stopped caring about the regular Joe. It all comes down to greed, most falling empires have gone through this.
A concept of China still existed, which you can see by pretty much reading any Western exploration of China. France has gone through at least 10 changes of government since we created the Constitution, but it's always been France. The same will be with the United States. Now it's possible that America will become a different government, and American influence will definitely change. But as long as people view themselves as Americans, America will exist for longer than any of us, short of some human-extinction event (2012 lol).
That would bring up the same argument that just because some people still consider themselves Romans, then the Roman Empire must still be intact in some fashion. It's not though, that died hundreds of years ago.
