Are we facing our collective end? Is civilization as we know it almost over and are we being overcome by forces so potent that we cannot avoid the inevitable collapse that has been the hallmark of every single great civilization in history? We all wonder that lately. The outlook is frankly dire as we contemplate the plans of our leaderhip who openly talk about blotting out the sun, sucking away all the life-giving CO2 or releasing deadly pathogens on the population in the form of infected mosquitos.

Can it get any worse? Has this ever happened before?

There is evidence of ancient highly advanced and technologically adept societies that have been almost entirely erased from history. Enough evidence exists that many of us conclude we are not the first to have reached our current pinnacle of scientific success. But their stories about how and why they vanished remain untold except in the form of a few rare exceptional artifacts or in the substance of ancient architecture that nobody has ever been able to adequately explain.

So drawing comparisons to those societies from antiquity is not possible with what we currently know. On the other hand, there are numerous civilizations that rose and fell over the course of the past 5000 years where a great deal is known and which left valuable records whose breadcrumbs of rise, fall and collapse can be traced. We might see ourselves reflected in their ashes if we look closely enough and perhaps get a glimpse into the reasons every one of them came to an end.

There is a podcast and video series I have followed during the past two years called “Fall of Civilizations” that examines some of histories most notable empires and discusses the reasons they eventually fell and then vanished. So I thought I would post this commentary and mention it for those here who are curious enough to tune in and wonder if our circumstances are in any way similar to empires of the past. I am not suggesting this is the end or anything. I am only saying we may be making mistakes today that mirror some of the blunders of the past in ways we never considered. And maybe there is still time for us to turn things around before we join the list of failed societies that went before.

The series is 17 episodes so far covering the Maya, Khmer, Sumerians, Aztecs, Byzantium, Rome, the Han Dynasty and many others. This most recent episode I am posting is about Carthage which you will all know was so utterly destroyed by Rome that almost nothing remains of it today. Its fitting perhaps since we have reached so high and become such an obvious target of our adversaries that we now find ourselves in the unenviable topple zone with Huns literally storming our gates.

But will we survive and keep fighting another few rounds or is this possibly the end for us and our society? I really don’t know. But watch a few episodes and you may come away with the realization that our battle is still in the early stages. Nothing is decided yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dbdVhVSat8