Guardedly Pessimistic:Can the Sundial Be Turned Back?

I have been told that I am pessimistic. Guilty as charged. I still think that things can get better, but the path to this better future is filled with rocks and a sheer cliff on one side. Thus I refer to myself as guardedly pessimistic. I obviously did not invent this term, yet when you search this term my blog gets top billing.

I ran across a quote from I, Cladius, the PBS miniseries I religiously watched in the 70's. The quote sums up why I am pessimistic. I learned a lot from the series, like the health benefits of farting and belching. I also learned of the strong relationship between the Imperial family and the Jewish aristocracy of the time, like King Herod's family. The corruption of Rome was portrayed accurately and in horrific detail.

The quote is from Livia, grandmother of the hero of the series and wife of Emperor Augustus, an all around blackguard.

And it’s no use arguing with you republicans. You refuse to see that one can no more reintroduce republican government at this stage than one can reimpose primitive feelings of chastity on modern wives and husbands. It’s like trying to turn the shadow back on the sundial: it can’t be done.

While it took 400 years for Rome to fall, it did fall. Can the sundial be turned back? Can the sundial be turned back to renewed unquestioned US international dominance? Absolutely. Will it? Should it?

I doubt it. History has moved on.