{"id":19765,"date":"2010-07-05T13:55:43","date_gmt":"2010-07-05T17:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/?p=19765"},"modified":"2017-03-10T13:40:07","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T13:40:07","slug":"tumbling-empires-the-taming-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2010\/07\/05\/tumbling-empires-the-taming-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Tumbling Empires & the Taming Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

In the late 1970\u2019s the genial science historian<\/strong> James Burke<\/a> wrote and presented a ten-part series entitled Connections<\/a>, which became appointment-tv for my husband and me. He had a way of applying past lessons to present circumstances<\/a> that was both fascinating and entertaining and sometimes\u2013as in this video\u2013loaded with the prescience that comes from actually listening to history.<\/p>\n

At about the 3:30 mark, you find Burke once again presenting past as prelude:<\/p>\n

\n\u201d The last time a world empire fell apart, it was about 1500 years ago. Then, the empire was Roman\u2026. \u2026 What led the Barbarians walk over Rome is something that won\u2019t take you a second to sympathize with. The taxes were too high, to pay for the army that was losing all the battles, and a bunch of freeloaders in government, and of course, and to pay for thousands of civil servants.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stick with this all the way through;<\/strong> you will be very, very surprised as to where it leads. Well, regular readers of The Anchoress might not be<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This comes from reader John H.<\/strong>, who ends his email: Plus \u00e7a change, plus c\u2019est la m\u00eame chose.<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, watch the next one<\/strong> \u2013 watch them all<\/a>; it\u2019s a holiday, and we need the perspective of history to help us understand the present.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Little Miss Attila<\/strong> watched all five parts of this \u201cConnectons\u201d episode and wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The final establishing shot will make you gasp. At least, it did that to me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It did me, too. What a different world, and just 30 or so years have passed.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong>
\nHot Air:<\/strong> The CEO Problem; We Don\u2019t Have One<\/a>
\nWhy Obamanomics are Failing<\/a>
\nWe Need a President<\/a>
\nThe Unforgettable Fire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the late 1970\u2019s the genial science historian James Burke wrote and presented a ten-part series entitled Connections, which became appointment-tv for my husband and me. He had a way of applying past lessons to present circumstances that was both fascinating and entertaining and sometimes\u2013as in this video\u2013loaded with the prescience that comes from actually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,27,43,139,240,268],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-remaking-america","category-benedictine","category-catholic-vocations","category-james-burke","category-socialism-doesnt-work","category-video-faves"],"yoast_head":"\nTumbling Empires & the Taming Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the late 1970's the genial science historian James Burke wrote and presented a ten-part series entitled Connections, which became appointment-tv for my\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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