Prompt: Are there parallels between the Rome/Jerusalem reality and our contemporary world?
Greed, desire, a drive for more land, power, and conquest are all a part of the dirty peel of humanity. Yet when you get down to the core, faith, hope, and peace remain. This is just as true now as it was back when Rome and Jerusalem were prominent figures in civilization. Countries are always conflicting, battles are being won and lost, and some dark individuals are lurking and waiting to jump out and cause trouble. However, time continues on in its natural course with humanity being heaved along for the ride. Stratifications exist in every country whether it is due to social status in some or discrimination in others. Cultural rituals exist and with that come clashes between differing ones. So what makes now any different from the past?
In class we spoke of the reality of Roman and Jerusalem society. However, it is hard to confine reality since reality differs through varying eyes. According to a Google definition, reality "…is here on earth, the agreement that exists." To understand the similarities between Rome and Jerusalem in comparison to today’s society we must first examine what we believe to be the reality of those that lived back centuries ago. Stratification in Rome existed mostly through monetary means and to which family you belong to while stratification in Jerusalem primarily existed through the level of holiness of the life you lived. Therefore, walking around as an emperor in Rome, your reality was pleasure, desire, and power. Do you conquer to the north, south, east, or west next? Walking underneath him with different blood running through your veins, your reality as a slave was full of fear and uncertainty. Would you be back to spend time with your family tomorrow or would you be fed to the lions for the pleasure of that emperor? Living in Jerusalem, whether a high priest or an average citizen, you walk around hoping for the coming of the Lord to bring salvation and an uplifting truth to mankind. Your life is through the temple that reaches its hands out to encompass God.
Just as the past societies have stratification that can dictate lives, so do the countries of today. The more money you have, the more houses you can purchase and land you are able to “conquest.” You may have regular homes, summer homes, and/or apartments for business travel. You can also be a slave to money, scrimmaging through garbage cans for something useful and spending each day trying to get by, hoping the roar of winter will not take you away. In some of the Middle East, women are still below men and can be in a way slaves to their husbands. People are still judged by the color of their skin and not what is beneath. However, this is focusing on few while many have also progressed past the extremes Rome and Jerusalem’s reality experienced. For example, America typically prides in the improvement in equality over the past decades. The country has gone from owning slaves as the Romans did to yearning for unified education and rights for all. Granted, we can never get all of the dirt off of the peel of humanity and we are only slowly rinsing it away, but it is a start of learning from the past and moving forward.
Reverting back to the micro level, people are incessantly trying to prove that they are wealthy and find themselves striving for material goods. Walking around, I see people running out to buy the latest iPod, the most technologically advanced cell phone, and the hottest new laptop. People are moving to bigger houses with larger yards, buying newer cars to fill up their driveway, and sliding that credit card through the register to see what else they can get their hands on. Money is power and just as Rome and Jerusalem filled their cities with intense palaces or temples, so do we with our material goods in our own home. Not everyone feels that way and cares what others even think, but after all, America did create the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses.” Beyond that, we also can relate to the religious reality of Jerusalem. Places of worship are everywhere and people come together to unify with God and others who share their same belief. “The Temple was a place of constant activity, often crammed with worshippers,” (Rome and Jerusalem 58). Though our churches and synagogues may not be constantly running and we have scheduled times for masses, I have seen many times each bench stock full of people, forcing others to willingly stand in the back to be able to still share in the experience with their community. Whether speaking of faith or desire for power, the reality of the past and the contemporary world include these key themes. “By justice a king gives a county stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down” (Proverbs 29:4). Members of society will always be greedy while others strive for justice to combat such evil. Only through these parallels with past societies can we understand the progressions we have made and the direction we must head in. Can we or should we get rid of this stratification so prevalent in our society? If the answer is yes, what steps do we need to take to create a place for us to thrive and worship together in, free of the injustice of the past?
Abby, I enjoyed your analysis and I had a similar argument as yours. Both of us mentioned that Roman culture, especially in the social sense, was stratified- it consisted of many different peoples of economic backgrounds from slaves to the emperor. I said that modern America was stratified in a similar way, through the very poor and the very rich. I laughed when I realized that you said America was getting better at being more equal, and I had given the pessimistic viewpoint.
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