Why You Should Be Thinking About the Roman Empire
The silly TikTok trend is worthy of more thought
‘How often do you think about the Roman Empire?”
In case you didn’t know, this was a recent trend on TikTok where women asked the question of their partners and found themselves shocked that many of the men were thinking of it far more than they expected. This is a great example at 1:40:
ow, this was an American trend and as an Australian, I found it a bit odd. My wife asked me and I said “basically never.” But then I came across a video from Tim Poole where he broke it down a bit further. See, it’s not just about the Roman Empire, it’s about history in general.
Now, if you got a little bit more specific and asked me something like “how often do you think of major historical events, trends, world events and how things are playing out now?” My answer would be extremely different:
Literally every day.
And that’s not to say that it dominates my thoughts and that I’m curled up in the foetal position with worry, not at all. I’m a very busy guy with a lot on at any given time, but alongside what I’m trying to accomplish, I have a constant eye at a macro level on world events, trends and how they parallel history.
It would be stupid not to.
But people have gotten too comfortable. They expect the good times to roll on forever, ignoring that such periods in world history are the exception rather than the rule.
Now as a man, you have your own empire to worry about. In the beginning, that empire is just you. Eventually that empire will hopefully be a wife and children, extended family, a career, friendship circle and maybe even a business venture or two. And to have your own empire, no matter how modest, means you need to have your eyes open to what’s going on in the world.
Otherwise, there’s a good chance it will crumble.
So if you’ve been living life on autopilot, spending all your time consuming entertainment, taking everything at face value and worst of all, believing governments have your best interest at heart, it’s time to wake up. This isn’t me being conspiratorial or anything either, it’s just common sense.
Want an example? Look no further than the current cost of living crisis that seems to be going on across the world right now. Alongside Ukraine, the Middle East and the US election, the media talks incessantly about interest rates, debt and how much households are struggling.
Me? I’m not struggling. It’s been a mild inconvenience at most.
That’s not because I’m lucky though, it’s because I know the next recession is always around the corner. It’s because I’m careful to insulate myself and my family against these events while everyone else is out spending like drunken sailors while the times are good.
As someone who worked in military intelligence, I have a natural inclination and tendency to look at keep my eyes and ear out to what’s going on. In reality, I do it because I have a family that relies on me. I have a responsibility to know what’s going on and being ready to weather the storms that the world throws at us, by being alert to when they’re forming.
And no matter what stage of empire building you’re in right now, you should probably start doing the same.