Sunday, June 12, 2005
It's Rare...
...that I agree with a NYTimes op-ed, but it happens. This is an example, even if an entirely too shallow one. John Tierney draws the comparison between the Circus Maximus of Rome and the sports stadia of today, particularly in light of urban planning.
Now I realize that the "Fall of the Roman Empire is analogous to today," is an old and hacknyed arguement, but I think Tierney does himself an injustice be examining only what his analogy has to say about building stadiums with public money. What did the Circus mean to Roman society and what do the stadiums mean to us today? Do they represent the same amount of distraction from the business of being a society? Is it a measure of impending doom, or success?
Just something to think about.
Now I realize that the "Fall of the Roman Empire is analogous to today," is an old and hacknyed arguement, but I think Tierney does himself an injustice be examining only what his analogy has to say about building stadiums with public money. What did the Circus mean to Roman society and what do the stadiums mean to us today? Do they represent the same amount of distraction from the business of being a society? Is it a measure of impending doom, or success?
Just something to think about.
