James Edwards | Are we similar to the Byzantine empire? | CPT PPP Coverage

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Nowhere have the bookies issued written or printed odds that America will always remain the world’s greatest civilization.

The Byzantine Empire lasted 1,000 years after the fall of the Roman Empire.

There are a great many similarities between the Byzantine Empire and the history of America. Both civilizations survived because of their ability to compromise their enemies, avoid the quicksand of extended and multiple endless wars, and the desire of each generation to improve on the successes of the previous generation. Add to that their brilliant scientific advancements.

The Byzantine Empire was under endless attacks from the Ottoman Empire and the 14th-century black plague that killed millions of citizens. It never quite recovered. Constantinople, the 1,000-year-old gem of the ancient world, had 880,000 citizens and only 50,000 inhabitants when it fell.

America has been under a relentless attack from the Islamic Middle East, China and Russia, plus the COVID-19 pandemic and other pandemics. Whether we will be able to recover is yet to be determined. So what happened to the once-majestic Byzantine Empire?

As I list some of the challenges they faced and failed to conquer, compare them to what is currently happening in America.

In the Byzantine Empire, religion was cannibalized by the battle between western Catholicism and eastern Orthodoxy. They hated each other more then they hated their common enemy. They adopted a standard of living they no longer earned. They neglected their former civic values and fought endless battles over obscure religious texts, doctrines and vocabulary.

They did not expand their anemic army and navy. They did not properly maintain their life-protecting walls.

Instead of earning money through their accustomed trade, they inflated their currency. The once canny and shrewd leaders became smug and naive.

Does China seem similar to the Ottomans? The racial divide and the divide between the left and the right – they seem to hate each other more than they hate the common enemies.

Like the Byzantines, we have given up defending our border. We simply shrug our shoulders and are being overrun by millions when and where they please. Many of our downtowns are now half-deserted, dirty, dangerous and dysfunctional.

America simply prints money instead of earning it, and banks are tottering on failure. America’s liberal left believe they are invincible and refuse to accept reality that they aren’t. Our military is more worried about being politically correct than being deadly. The woke dogma, obscure word fights and cancel culture is a deadly cancer to the World War II generation.

The Byzantines never fought against what they were becoming. Thus far, an increasing percent of Americans aren’t prepared to fight against what we are becoming. There is still ample time to turn things around and to make certain we remain the nation we know we have always been.

Now is not the time to be an “oh, so what” generation. We simply don’t want historians to compare us with the Byzantine Empire. Let’s make certain we begin this process in the 2024 election.

James M. Edwards Sr. is a retired president and CEO of WJAC Inc. and the Johnstown Chiefs, and general manager of WJAC-TV.

James M. Edwards Sr. is a retired president and CEO of WJAC Inc. and the Johnstown Chiefs, and general manager of WJAC-TV.