I've read a few books on history, conservative and controversial and I'm always looking for reasons why things happen, just like most people here. I also have a history degree. Below is my view of the sudden rise of Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, which to me relates to America-the countries and the and continent. Which also relate to Rome. I see two major types of civilizations out there.
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome rose fairly fast, left a great mark on the Earth, and now they are gone. Mesopotamia and Egypt were great because they were first with so many advances, writing, monumental architecture, cities, agriculture on a large scale and we still look back on what they did with awe. Mesopotamia and Egypt were unlike China, India, Japan, Russia, England, France, and other countries and peoples that took far longer to rise to prominence. They all take great pride in their long history and traditions. Mesopotamia and Egypt were built on the knowledge of older cultures and put together the best minds and technology to go off in new directions to create faster and better from what existed before. We could perhaps say they stood on the shoulders of giants.
There is likely a connection to be discovered between the old Danube script, the use of tokens, and the creation of the more precise or practical hieroglyphics of Mesopotamia and Egypt, but direct evidence seems to be lacking. There was a synthesis it seems around 3000 BC with these ideas and many bright minds made new connections and came up with more logical efficient coherent writing systems and other developments. Since the discovery of Gobekli Tepe, being 11,500 years old, we now know that man was able to build great structures before the pyramids and ziggurats. Direct evidence here too is lacking but archaeology is digging up more evidence daily.
Most nations tended to rise fairly slowly and create a language. In China the Chinese people speak Chinese, in Japan the Japanese people speak Japanese, in Spain the Spanish people speak Spanish, in England the English people speak English. This generally took a fair number of centuries and some nations and languages created have been small and have not made a large impact on history. Then some rise fast and make a big impact.
Rome began as a city state and built up its power with ruthless efficiency. They too in my view saw language as a tool like anything else to use for their advantage and did not feel bound by tradition in their growth. They made citizens from those who qualified, without relying on race, which was not common in those days, or even now in many countries. In that way Rome was very open minded.
In America, all the different American peoples speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Maya, Quechua, Cree. Here is a multilingual landmass. that corresponds to the people. Just like today there is no American language in existence. Ethnic/racial/cultural/political unity has not yet been created, and may never be. What I would call the old foundational cultures built themselves up slowly and as much as they could from within. They were and many are still very conservative, possibly due to the closeness they once felt and still feel that prevents them from adopting new ideas. The definition of what America is, and who an American is, with qualifiers like North, South, Anglo, Central, Meso, and Latin for people and regions, or the Americas for the entire landmass, opens up possibilities that more exclusive cultures do not want to entertain. Perhaps what never gets neatly sorted out gets rejigged and recalculated on a regular basis.
Being conservative means you cling more to the old order than to new better ways of doing things. I see in the modern world today, especially in the United States, a desire to do things in the most efficient, fastest, and most profitable way, tradition is not much of a concern. In early Mesopotamia and Egypt there was space and opportunity at a level that simply hadn't existed before and they took full advantage of new ideas to push forward in many fields.
Mesopotamia and Egypt get credit for being the first civilizations, and they rose fast. The same can be said for colonies that once clung to the Atlantic seaboard 400 or so years ago and is now a great power in the world. The United States built on previous knowledge from Europe, yet felt unhindered by old ways, especially in religion, and had plenty of space and opportunity to create something new. The fairly rapid time frame of development, the newer better technology, and a land with many languages seem like the parallels between Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome and America. All four seem to have hit the ground running, made it to the top, and then faded-although their legacies are still with us, while one is still going.
Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome rose fairly fast, left a great mark on the Earth, and now they are gone. Mesopotamia and Egypt were great because they were first with so many advances, writing, monumental architecture, cities, agriculture on a large scale and we still look back on what they did with awe. Mesopotamia and Egypt were unlike China, India, Japan, Russia, England, France, and other countries and peoples that took far longer to rise to prominence. They all take great pride in their long history and traditions. Mesopotamia and Egypt were built on the knowledge of older cultures and put together the best minds and technology to go off in new directions to create faster and better from what existed before. We could perhaps say they stood on the shoulders of giants.
There is likely a connection to be discovered between the old Danube script, the use of tokens, and the creation of the more precise or practical hieroglyphics of Mesopotamia and Egypt, but direct evidence seems to be lacking. There was a synthesis it seems around 3000 BC with these ideas and many bright minds made new connections and came up with more logical efficient coherent writing systems and other developments. Since the discovery of Gobekli Tepe, being 11,500 years old, we now know that man was able to build great structures before the pyramids and ziggurats. Direct evidence here too is lacking but archaeology is digging up more evidence daily.
Most nations tended to rise fairly slowly and create a language. In China the Chinese people speak Chinese, in Japan the Japanese people speak Japanese, in Spain the Spanish people speak Spanish, in England the English people speak English. This generally took a fair number of centuries and some nations and languages created have been small and have not made a large impact on history. Then some rise fast and make a big impact.
Rome began as a city state and built up its power with ruthless efficiency. They too in my view saw language as a tool like anything else to use for their advantage and did not feel bound by tradition in their growth. They made citizens from those who qualified, without relying on race, which was not common in those days, or even now in many countries. In that way Rome was very open minded.
In America, all the different American peoples speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Maya, Quechua, Cree. Here is a multilingual landmass. that corresponds to the people. Just like today there is no American language in existence. Ethnic/racial/cultural/political unity has not yet been created, and may never be. What I would call the old foundational cultures built themselves up slowly and as much as they could from within. They were and many are still very conservative, possibly due to the closeness they once felt and still feel that prevents them from adopting new ideas. The definition of what America is, and who an American is, with qualifiers like North, South, Anglo, Central, Meso, and Latin for people and regions, or the Americas for the entire landmass, opens up possibilities that more exclusive cultures do not want to entertain. Perhaps what never gets neatly sorted out gets rejigged and recalculated on a regular basis.
Being conservative means you cling more to the old order than to new better ways of doing things. I see in the modern world today, especially in the United States, a desire to do things in the most efficient, fastest, and most profitable way, tradition is not much of a concern. In early Mesopotamia and Egypt there was space and opportunity at a level that simply hadn't existed before and they took full advantage of new ideas to push forward in many fields.
Mesopotamia and Egypt get credit for being the first civilizations, and they rose fast. The same can be said for colonies that once clung to the Atlantic seaboard 400 or so years ago and is now a great power in the world. The United States built on previous knowledge from Europe, yet felt unhindered by old ways, especially in religion, and had plenty of space and opportunity to create something new. The fairly rapid time frame of development, the newer better technology, and a land with many languages seem like the parallels between Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome and America. All four seem to have hit the ground running, made it to the top, and then faded-although their legacies are still with us, while one is still going.