by Alfonz Ingram
We gather here not in celebration, nor in condemnation, but in solemn reflection upon the fall of the American Empire—a nation once vast in its ambitions, towering in its influence, and restless in its pursuit of destiny.
Born from revolution, it rose on the wings of industry, hardened in the fires of war, and wielded power with an unshakable belief in its own righteousness. It stood as both beacon and leviathan, offering a dream even as it cast a long shadow. Its people spoke of liberty, justice, and opportunity, and for a time, the world listened.
But power is a fickle companion, and history is an unyielding tide. The empire, like all before it, became burdened by its own contradictions. Wealth amassed but never satisfied; divisions grew where unity was needed; wars were waged where peace was promised. Its leaders spoke of greatness while its foundations eroded, and as its might extended beyond its grasp, it found itself no longer the author of history, but its subject.
Yet, let us not remember only its decline, nor reduce it to mere excess and failure. For within its borders lived generations who fought for something better—those who gave voice to the voiceless, who built, who dreamed, who believed that ideals were more than words carved in stone. Their struggles, their triumphs, their sacrifices deserve remembrance.
The empire has fallen, but the echoes of its story remain. Let them serve as a lesson to those who come after: that power without wisdom is a fleeting fire, that no nation is immune to the gravity of its own hubris, and that in the end, it is not conquest, nor wealth, nor monuments that endure—but the spirit of those who refuse to surrender to the darkness of their age.
And so, we lay to rest the American Empire, neither the first nor the last to rise and fall beneath the weight of history. May its memory guide those who would build anew, and may the next dawn bring something wiser than what was lost.
: We had the power, if every adult citizen, of which is about 500,000,000, had stood up to be counted, we very well could have saved her, but alas, over 250,000,000, simply sat back and did nothing.
"Those who do nothing in the face of injustice are often referred to as bystanders or complicit individuals who passively allow injustice to occur by not taking action to speak out or intervene, essentially choosing to remain neutral even when neutrality supports the side of the oppressor; this can be considered a form of tacit approval of the injustice." - Desmond Tutu, Ginetta Sagan, Marcus Aurelius and Martin Luther King Jr.
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