ALEX de TOQUEVILLE ON THE ROMANS

Read the following quotes:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.”

-Alex de Toqueville, 1831

Using your knowledge of Roman history, explain how these quotes can apply to the rise and fall of the Roman Republic, as well as to its ultimate transformation into an Empire ruled by an all-powerful emperor.  Additionally, do you believe that the above quotes, and Roman history in general for that matter, have any practical application or relationship to the United States?  Why or why not?  Be sure to explain. 

REMEMBERING 9/11

The terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11^th, 2001 changed the nation and altered the course of events in the United States and around the world.  Most of you are too young to truly remember that day: where you were, what you were doing, how you felt, and how it affected you. Thus, what I would like you to do is facilitate a discussion regarding 9/11 with someone who does remember (i.e. your parents, an older sibling, an aunt or uncle, or a family friend etc.). Ask them the following questions:

• Where were you and what were were you doing when you found out about the terrorist attacks?
• How did you feel?
• What was your immediate reaction?
• Is there anything else in particular about the day that stands out or that you can remember?
• In what ways do you think that America, and the World for that matter, has changed in the past 12 years as a result?

After you have had this discussion, report back with your findings by responding to this blog post. You have until Wednesday, September 18^th to complete this assignment.

Welcome to the Blog!

Some of you may be familiar with how blogging works, while some of you may not. Thus, in order to help everyone get acclimated to the class blog, let's start with something simple: tell me how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  See, I told you it was simple...the point here is just for you to get comforatable with the process of responding to posts here on the class blog.  The title of this post (and every other post you write in this class) should be your first and last name, followed by your class period. For example - "John Smith, 1st hour."