Is Our National Celebrity Worship a Sign of Inevitable Collapse?

[Ptarmigan]

Is Our National Celebrity Worship a Sign of Inevitable Collapse?
https://townhall.com/columnists/jaredwhitley/2022/04/02/is-our-national-celebrity-worship-a-sign-of-inevitable-collapse-n2605381

If the average lifespan of a great empire is 250 years, then our obsession with celebrity shows that the United States of America is well on track for its 2026 date with disaster.

That would be the prediction of Sir John Glubb, based on his now infamous missive “The Fate of Empires.” While the British knight wrote the essay in 1974, based on his vast experiences and extensive study of history, it didn’t get much attention until recently, as he determined that great empires last about 10 generations or 250 years – and that’s about how old the Declaration of Independence is.

Consider the following empires and the length of time between their rise and fall:

Assyria — 859-612 B.C. — 247 years

Persia — 538-330 B.C. — 208 years

Greece — 331-100 B.C. — 231 years

Roman Republic — 260-27 B.C. — 233 years

Roman Empire — 27 B.C.-A.D. 180 — 207 years

Arab Empire — 634-880 — 246 years

Mameluke Empire — 1250-1517 — 267 years

Ottoman Empire — 1320-1570 — 250 years

Spain — 1500-1750 — 250 years

Romanov Russia — 1682-1916 — 234 years

Britain — 1700-1950 — 250 years

Nothing lasts forever. One sign of collapse is celebrity worship.

An empire’s military success leads to wealth, which leads to decadence among the descendants of those who created that wealth, which leads to collapse. Though Glubb goes into a variety of signs of that decadence, he’s eerily prophetic with singling out celebrity worship:

Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. The resemblance between various declining nations in this respect is truly surprising. The Roman mob, we have seen, demanded free meals and public games. Gladiatorial shows, chariot races and athletic events were their passion.

Judging by the time and space allotted to them in the Press and television, football and baseball are the activities which today chiefly interest the public in Britain and the United States respectively. The heroes of declining nations are always the same—the athlete, the singer or the actor. The word ‘celebrity’ today is used to designate a comedian or a football player, not a statesman, a general, or a literary genius.

Same thing going on in America.

Regarding the fall of the Arab empire 1000 years ago, Glubb explores the toxic influence of celebrity at the time. Citing contemporary historians of Baghdad at the time, Glubb continues:

The historians commented bitterly on the extraordinary influence acquired by popular singers over young people, resulting in a decline in sexual morality. The ‘pop’ singers of Baghdad accompanied their erotic songs on the lute, an instrument resembling the modern guitar. In the second half of the tenth century, as a result, much obscene sexual language came increasingly into use, such as would not have been tolerated in an earlier age.

[enslaved1]

Remember seeing several years ago that most large civilizations didn't last past 250 years.  Knowing the US is just about there has been concerning.  Didn't know about the celebrity worship connection.  That is not encouraging given our currant state. 

[Old n Grumpy]

The media pushes celebrity worship to distract us while the politicians we elected rob us blind and destroy our country to enrich themselves.

[Eupher]

Yep, it looks like we're right on schedule.

Especially the part about those descendants of those who created the wealth becoming decadent.

Show me a kid without a cell phone or an X-box and I'll show you a well-rounded kid.