Are We Rome?

In his book Are we Rome, author Cullen Murphy compares and contrasts the fundamental composition of Ancient Rome and present-day America. Through his comprehensive review of these two nations, Murphy predicts that the United States will suffer a similar fate to Rome (that is, a fall from glory) unless the country makes certain changes to its ideology. He posits that these changes need to be made both within the government and within the citizenry in order to change the future course of our nation.

In an effort to help facilitate this change, Murphy authored this book for an intended audience and appropriately targeted his message to the group. However, in presenting a wide range of information, his audience is general in nature. It is most succinctly identified as those people capable of effectuating the requisite change described by the author. For the uneducated reader, Murphy provides the overall history of both Rome and America to help identify the commonalities between the two nations and challenges the community at large to exploit the equally highlighted differences. For the political pundit, Murphy appeals to the “declinists” to reconsider their absolute conclusion that American is “dangerously committed overbroad and rusted out at home,” and gives this population reason to believe in this nation once again (Murphy 8). For the “triumphalists”, Murphy cautions this group as well, challenging them throughout the book to maintain perspective (Murphy 8). Overall, Murphy provides a mechanism to spur the nation into action through his work.

Cullen Murphy is a well-established author within the literary community and a review of his resume reveals a somewhat diverse background. For over two decades, Murphy was the writer for the long-running comic strip, Prince Valiant – a story about a boy turned knight which takes place during fifth century Britain (“Prince Valiant” n.p.). In order to write about Prince Valiant for so many years, Murphy had to become well-versed in many different ancient cultures as he wrote stories of the prince’s adventures and travels from land to land (“Prince Valiant” n.p.) Given this experience, it makes sense that he would also become interested in the history of ancient Rome. Murphy has published books on regular life, such as one work examining what his publishers described as the “phenomenon of garbage” (Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage), and a collection of essays about ordinary, everyday things (Just Curious) (“About the Author” n.p.). As his career progressed, he moved on to more serious and possibly controversial topics, including women and religion (The Word According to Eve: Women and the Bible in Ancient Times and Our Own) and, most recently, politics (Are we Rome?) (“About the Author” n.p.). For many years Murphy was the Managing Editor at The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine covering topics including politics, business, and culture (“About the Author” n.p.). His most recent job began in 2006, where he was appointed Editor-at-Large at Vanity Fair (“About the Author” n.p.). Murphy’s literary perspective in Are We Rome appears to be a result of this his collective experiences, with the author calling on various influences throughout his career. Murphy even draws upon his own personal travels and multiple visits to Rome as he lays out the foundation for these opinions in the text (Murphy 21).

Are we Rome was published in 2007, and presumably written in the years that preceded it. During this time, the United States was arguably in a state of decline and there was general displeasure with the government overall. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had proven itself unable to manage the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina or the resulting and widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States (Murphy 109). Following what was touted as a complete failure of our counterintelligence system, there was considerable debate regarding the legitimacy of our country’s military activities. The nation at large continued to balk at the level of spending on the war and related activities, as well as our nation’s continued presence in the Middle East (Murphy 117-18). By 2007, President George W. Bush ordered the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction closed (Murphy 228). The book was presented to the nation during a time of turmoil, in which many people were concerned about the future of our country. Given the historical context of the book, these conditions made the audience especially receptive to the optimism presented by Murphy in the book as they took were looking for hope.

The book is a well-thought-out and well-researched review. The text is organized into what the author describes as “six parallels”, highlighting those areas where he sees commonalities between Rome and the United States (Murphy 17). Murphy begins by examining how Americans view America, and in particular how Washington, D.C. views the rest of the country (Murphy 17). Murphy spent considerable time reviewing the intricacies of our nation’s capital, and the way politicians relate to one another and the rest of the country. In applying his knowledge of Ancient Rome, he compares how the politicians and society of that country felt similar to the way he posits that we do today. Secondly, Murphy compares America’s military to the Roman forces. Again calling on his vast historical knowledge, Murphy is able to draw comparisons between Rome and the United States and the disparity between “military society and civilian society” (Murphy 18-19). He also compares both country’s challenges in keeping their own militaries staffed and operational and also draws comparisons between the two nations’ decisions to look to others for support (Murphy 19). At the same time, he criticizes the size and cost of our existing military and cites numerous examples of where our county’s system has failed (Murphy 19). Murphy labels his third parallel as “privatization”, which he argues is a synonym for “corruption” (Murphy 19). He illustrates how both Rome and the United States have struggled with challenges in managing public versus private obligation (Murphy 19). While criticizing Washington in early parallels, here he defends Washington’s role in the provision of historically government services (Murphy 19). The fourth parallel relates to what can be categorized as the arrogance of both the United States and Rome (Murphy 19). In overestimating their own abilities, both nations underestimated the abilities of other countries (Murphy 19). He posits that this ultimately contributed to the fall of Rome and cautions our country to avoid making similar lapses in judgment (Murphy 19). The fifth parallel relates to nationalism and the maintenance of our country’s borders (Murphy 19). The author questions our collective decision to hold strong borders when living in such close proximity to other, less fortunate nations separated from prosperity by only a river (Murphy 20). He questions whether it is wise to hold these borders firm, much like the Romans chose to do. The sixth and final parallel made between the two countries is titled the “complexity parallel” (Murphy 20). Murphy uses this parallel to draw a comparison between the infrastructure of both Rome and America as he examines the sustained effort required to effectively govern the countries (Murphy 20). While by the author’s own admission the list of parallels is not designed to be all-inclusive, there are certainly enough similarities to give the readers pause.

Cullen Murphy’s text holds significant value in multiple areas of study. For the historian concerned with factual events, Murphy recounts history across a millennium with amazing detail and documents facts. His comprehensive accounts date back as far as 220 B.C. to Rome’s sorted military history beginning with the “challenge of Carthage”, across the years to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. (Murphy 9, 76). The author again effortlessly moves through history and various accounts along the way to other assassinations, such as the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand -- the catalyst for World War I (Murphy 141). Murphy continues to educate the reader along the way while traveling through modern history clear up to the Presidency of George W. Bush (Murphy 16). Historians would be hard-pressed to find another book detailing the history of Rome and the United States in such detail, in the same volume. For the political scientist concerned with our nation, our policies, politics and government, Murphy provides considerable insight into this arena as well. Here he also discusses a wide range of issues, including America’s energy policy and the nation’s foreign policy (Murphy 202, 205). Throughout the text, Murphy carefully examines government activity (or inactivity, as the case may be) and the lasting effects these actions have had on our country. Political Scientists are challenged through Murphy’s use of a poignant quote from George Washington in the text…”When a man does all he can, though it succeed not well, blame not him that did it” (Murphy 38). Not to be left out, Are We Rome? is also relevant for economists in the United States. One subject that remains an issue of contention which is covered by Murphy at length in the book is the issue of military spending. Economists historically argue the exact nature of the impact that this spending has on the American economy. In the book, Murphy concludes that military spending can only have a negative effect and effectively depletes the budget of funds that could be used to finance other projects (Murphy 75). Economists may rely on these arguments to bolster their own positions or use Murphy as an example of the lunatic fringe.

Overall, Murphy’s book Are We Rome? is meant to remind Americans everywhere that with our individual freedoms comes the freedom to make another choice. We may continue along the trajectory of the current path and possibly face the same fate as Ancient Rome, or do something else. According to Murphy, the United States may address the two most glaring issues of our society – corruption and arrogance – and avoid the same fate as that of ancient Rome.

Works Cited

“About the Author.” Cullen Murphy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://cullenmurphy.com/biography>.

“Prince Valiant.” King Features RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://kingfeatures.com/comics/comics-a-z/?id=Prince_Valiant>.

Murphy, Cullen. Are we Rome?: The fall of an Empire and the Fate of America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. Print.