Are there parallels between the Rome/ Jerusalem reality and our contemporary world?
When trying to find parallels between the Rome/ Jerusalem reality and our present world, it is difficult to find a present day scenario that is identical to that of Rome and Jerusalem. However, it is easy to see similarities. First, we said the Roman army acted as a high priest, and the emperor was the General of the Army. The emperor was also seen as a “god” by the people. Secondly, Rome was socially stratified as shown by the control of the slaves by their masters. These slaves had to obey anything their master asked of them whether or not it was morally or ethically right.
In Jerusalem, everything was practically the opposite of Rome. Jerusalem was a “Temple City” in which life was connected with the temple, religion, sacrifice, etc. It was not dominated by the military. This was the most important principle. In regards to the God, no one was as important as him, and no leader would be looked at as a god. Lastly, respect and ethics had to be shown between people of all classes.
As I try to parallel Rome to a present day country, I picture North Korea over and over agin because of their government and military. Kim Jong-Il is a tyrannical leader, who has control over the entire country. Anything he says goes, so there is a sense of social stratification because he acts as the master while his people act as slaves. I present this relationship because of the seclusion and rules he has put in place in North Korea. The following piece from the U.S. Department of State depicts Kim Jong-Il’s control,
“Due to its isolationist nature, North Korea’s human rights record is difficult to evaluate. However, North Korea maintains a record of consistent, severe human rights violations, stemming from the government’s total control over all activity. All sources of media, such as radio, television, and news organizations, are controlled by the regime and heavily censored. North Korea is ranked second to last on the World Press Freedom Index.”
He has also built a country that has a massive military just like the Romans, and is a leader who is feared by his people along with those surrounding North Korea. I am sure the lower class in Rome feared that at any time they could be mandated to become a gladiator or slave. Not only this, but Rome created fear amongst the surrounding countries because of their will to grow their territories. North Korea has created fear in the United States and many other countries with their possible production of nuclear weapons, which I am sure is happening. In the past year in the United States, I have seen numerous stories on CNN, ABC, and NBC surrounding North Korea and their production of nuclear weapons, which creates a fear of possibly being attacked. Overall, North Korea and Rome are similar by the fear they have instilled in others, the size of their military, and the social stratification.
In terms of Jerusalem, it is easy to parallel South Korea to it because of North Korea being my example for Rome. Even though South Korea is the religious country Jerusalem was, the tension between North Korea and South Korea can very much compare to that of Rome and Jerusalem. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, which was a shock to everyone. This began the Korean War which lasted until July 27, 1953. Since this time, many negotiations have taken place to try and create a unified Korea, but often North Korea has showed its hostile nature with its attack in Myanmar in1983, the bombing of an airliner in 1987, and most recently a North Korean torpedo hitting the war ship, Cheonan, on March 26 of this year (2). The constant attacks on South Korea can be compared to the several attempts by the Romans to destroy Jerusalem.
The Rome/Jerusalem reality is similar to the North Korea/ South Korea reality. North Korea though has many similar qualities that Rome had such as: its military, social stratification, and tyrannical ruling, whereas, South Korea merely compares to Jerusalem because of the hostility shown by North Korea to South Korea. However, the most important aspect of the Rome/ Jerusalem reality was that Rome continually invaded Jerusalem until they were able to bring down the temple, which could possibly be the case with North and South Korea. Hopefully this will not be the case, but it is hard to tell with Kim Jong-Il and their government.
1. U.S. Deparment of State. 9 March 2010.http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm.
2. U.S. Backs South Korea in Punishing North. 24 May 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37309788/
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