A wonderful person who used to work with me once complained to me: “There are those who understand the human experience as psychological man; others who see it as economic man; but you, you see it only as historical man.” I accepted his admonition as a compliment.

As someone who spent a good part of his life thinking about old age and who, now, has become very old, I can assure you that there are few subjects more interesting to old guys than that of civilizational collapse. As such, in the eyes of old guys January 20, 2017 was a near-perfect moment to start the countdown clock.

Thus, today’s essay by an eminent historian about the lessons to be learned from the most renowned history of the collapse of Rome struck me as a useful morsel for sharing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Oj_mU8OlVvU09SJJevhXeZDGkZwi8XY2/view?usp=drivesdk

Now that you’ve almost choked on this tough-to-digest main course, by way of dessert please give a quick gander at this brief Atlantic reminder all is not yet lost.