Time Travel To Rome Essay Examples

When I hopped out of the time machine, I realized that I was transported to Rome in about the time of Christ, circa A.D. 11. Augustus was the current ruler of Rome. After some asking around and some curious stares, I determined that Augustus himself was now far away from Rome, near the rapidly-expanding Empire's outskirts towards present-day Turkey.
I walked around the city of Rome, and observed that a new forum had been constructed. I also noticed that Rome had a police and fire department. By modern measures, it was a very large, clean city with open-air markets, city streets, plazas, and some fountains. But, I also noticed a bustling slave trade, as well as a lot of poverty. It appeared that while many people lived as artisans, merchants, and traders, the masses lived in squalor. I began to think about America, and even missed my homeland, in spite of its problems, including crime, income inequalities, non-stop military interventions, and political corruption. From my studies, I found a lot of similarities between America and the blossoming Roman Republic.
One of the main similarities, it appeared, was that both the Roman Republic (the Pax Romana) under Augustus, and America under its Presidents were engaged in military expansionism, and Empire-building. I found out that Augustus had worked hard to establish the military, and the highly-trained, elite Praetorian Guard. Roman soldiers were not just trained as fighters. They were also excellent road-builders, civil engineers, and even diplomats to some extent. Anyway, the sights and sounds of the bustling City of Rome -- the seat of the Roman Empire -- were a lot like any modern city today, less the automobiles, skyscrapers, and lights -- not to mention many other 21st-century advances such as computers and cell phones.
Yet, despite the similarities between 1st-century Rome and 21st-century America, I found many differences, and longed to be back home. Rome was no longer a Republic. Augustus did not rule a democratic society. Rather, he ruled through military might and political cunning. He was, in actuality, a dictator. The Roman Peace, or Pax Romana, I laughed to myself, was somewhat like Presidents Bush and Obama's efforts to retain the peace by waging constant war. This thought was depressing. However, there was no room for democracy during Augustus's iron rule and unquestioned authority as the "First Citizen of the State". At least in America, there were ideals of democracy, and the ideal that we "were all created equally". Rome had no such ideals. Augustus, in fact, succeeded a ruler (Julius Caesar) who was murdered on the floor of the Senate. I recalled that transitions of power in America were not usually bloody affairs.
For these reasons, I longed to be back in America where I was free to speak to power, yet be protected from mob rule -- one of the tendencies of a democracy. If I were to speak out against a military dictator such as Augustus, I might have been quickly taken away and executed. At least under President Obama, I was free to express discontent with the domestic policies and/or foreign policies that I thought were unfair without (much) fear of reprisal. From my time travel experience, I realized that Rome was dangerous if one did not "do as in Rome when in Rome". Being a member of a minority group, or holding an unpopular opinion was much safer in America, and the right to express dissatisfaction with the government by peaceful assembly was acceptable. If I had one more ride on the time travel machine, I would go back to America without a second thought.