By Russell Turner

Posted: June 23, 2012

STILWELL, Okla. -- I have heard it said that one truth in history is that we humans never learn from history. It is a sad fact that we humans seem to make the same mistakes time and time again. We Americans have become naïve in our belief that people in government will not allow a financial calamity to fall upon our nation. I have often written about the fall of the Roman Empire, I wonder if the average Romans had the same faith in their government in their time?

 When you look at the ruins of the Roman Empire, their accomplishments were awesome to say the least. They constructed aqueducts that carried water to their cities while most of the world’s population was dipping water into clay pots and carrying it over long distances. Their military was second to none; with their legions they conquered the known world at the time. But their eventual downfall was because of a lavish lifestyle and high taxation. If high living and a high tax rate was the key to prosperity, Rome would still rule the world today.

When you look at history a nation rises to greatness and becomes wealthy based on sound principles and the hard work of the founding generations.  As the wealth of the nation grows, later generations develop an attitude of entitlement, rather than a goal to work hard for and achieve.  Governments, like individuals, grow accustomed to a high life style. A prudent person understands that there will be times of plenty and times that require having the ability to live within their means. As a nation begins living beyond its means to maintain the high life without the hard work, it will start borrowing and spending with no regard to the future inhabitants of the country.

When nations go bankrupt there are some severe consequences. Governments will implement capital controls, border controls, price and wage controls, and anything else they can do to maintain the status quo. For those who have undying faith in our elected officials, will they see the light when more riots, defaults, bank runs, stimulus packages, nationalizations, tax increases, pension grabs, etc. and acknowledge what's happening?

This year’s elections, in my opinion, will be one of the most important ones that I have participated in during my life. Politicians have a bad habit of promising things to certain groups in an attempt to get elected. We Americans had better come to the understanding that there is a finite supply of money for elected people to spend. The scenario that I have been writing about is nothing new. Throughout history other cultures have made the same mistakes that we are making today. I just hope that we Americans have a change of attitude before some future generation digs through the ruins of our nation and comments about how great we once were.

Russell Turner lives in Adair County, Oklahoma and writes "The Conservative View."