Blog Post #2

Part One: Five social problems facing the United States today

1. Same-Sex Marriage

The Supreme Court recently ruled that marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman is legal. This ruling threatens the traditional organization of the family unit therefore affecting society at a whole.

2. Inequality and Discrimination

There is discrimination based on race, religion, economics, etc. This discrimination leads to inequality.

3. Violence

There is an increasing number of shootings and violent outbreaks across the nation.

4. Terrorism

Isis, among other groups, are attacking the United States.

5. Poverty

According to www.feedingamerica.org in the year 2013 45.3 million people were in poverty.



Part Two:

In Juvenal’s Satire III we can see many parallels between social issues in ancient Rome, specifically Rome’s Imperial period, and in the United States today. Although a satire, the reading can still give us insights into what life in ancient Rome may have actually been like.

In the United States today there is the social issue of sexuality. Gay marriage is now legal and we see it being more socially acceptable to be a transgender. In Juvenal’s Satire III we read about the theatre and the actors. Juvenal says, “Could any actor do better when he plays the part of Thais, or of a matron, or of a Greek slave-girl without her pallium? You would never think that it was a masked actor that was speaking, but a very woman, complete in all her parts” (1). This alludes to the fact that there was a confusion in sexuality in ancient Rome as there is in the United States today. Also, Juvenal says, “Besides all this, there is nothing sacred to his lusts: not the matron of the family, nor the maiden daughter, not the as yet unbearded son-in-law to be, not even the as yet unpolluted son; if none of these be there, he will debauch his friend's grandmother” (1). This shows that in ancient Rome sex was not sacred. Likewise in the United States today the sanctity of marriage and intimacy is declining while the percentage of those viewing pornography is rapidly rising.

Similar to the United States today, there was discrimination in ancient Rome. Juvenal highlights the economic discrimination that took place. He says, “Numa himself might present himself…the first question asked will be as to his wealth, the last about his character: 'how many slaves does he keep?' 'how many acres does he own?' 'how big and how many are his dessert dishes?' A man's word is believed in exact proportion to the amount of cash which he keeps in his strong-box” (1). Or in other words, the ricer a man was the more he was trusted. In our society we see the same thing.

Also on the topic of economic equality Juvenal says, “And what of this, that the poor man gives food and occasion for jest if his cloak be torn and dirty; if his toga be a little soiled; if one of his shoes gapes where the leather is split, or if some fresh stitches of coarse thread reveal where not one, but many a rent has been patched? Of all the woes of luckless poverty none is harder to endure than this, that it exposes men to ridicule” (1). In ancient Rome poor men were ridiculed. This is the same in the United States today. It is the natural man’s reaction to be puffed up in pride when he has money and then criticize those who are lower and poorer than him.

Another social issue our nation faces is violence. Recently there has been several fatal shootings, such as in Charleston, South Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Juvenal explains the issue of violence in ancient Rome by painting the picture of a mugging taking place. He says, “The fellow stands up against me, and bids me halt; obey I must. What else can you do when attacked by a madman stronger than yourself? …Whether you venture to say anything, or make off silently, it's all one: he will thrash you just the same, and then, in a rage, take bail from you. Such is the liberty of the poor man: having been pounded and cuffed into a jelly, he begs and prays to be allowed to return home with a few teeth in his head!” (1) He goes on to say, “Nor are these your only terrors. When your house is shut, when bar and chain have made fast your shop, and all is silent, you will be robbed by a burglar; or perhaps a cut-throat will do for you quickly with cold steel” (1). Violence was a social issue in ancient Rome as it is for the United States today and for also many, if not all, nations throughout the world.

While Juvenal did not specifically mention the social issue of terrorism in ancient Rome he does make mention of the foreign trade that took place between Rome and other states. He says, “…what fraction of our dregs comes from Greece? The Syrian Orontes has long since poured into the Tiber, bringing with it its lingo and its manners, its flutes and its slanting harp-strings…” (1). However, scholar Gregory G. Bolich gives a little more insight into terrorism in ancient Rome. He says, “Terrorism is probably as old as human society. In the ancient Roman world there were no words for ‘terrorism or terrorists. However, the acts of terrorism inflicted in those days were not unlike those of modern times. Then, as now, there were people willing to employ a calculated use of force and terror to accomplish their ends. Though the ancients may have called them rebels or brigands or tyrants, the motives, the methods, and the outcomes are familiar to people of our era under the collective name of terrorism” (2).

Lastly, Juvenal covers the social issue of poverty. He says, “It is no easy matter, anywhere, for a man to rise when poverty stands in the way of his merits: but nowhere is the effort harder than in Rome…” He goes on to explain why that is, “...You must pay a big rent for a wretched lodging, a big sum to fill the bellies of your slaves, and buy a frugal dinner for yourself” (1). Likewise, poverty is an issue in the United States today. According to www.feedingamerica.org in the year 2013 45.3 million people were in poverty. However, to Juvenal much of the poverty in ancient Rome was what he called “pretentious poverty.” (On a side note: To my fellow BYU students living in off-campus housing, does the phrase “You must pay a big rent for a wretched lodging” ring as true to you as it does to me?)

Overall, as discussed there are many parallels between the social issues of ancient Rome, specifically Rome’s Imperial period, and the United States today.