Civic Responsibility And The Fall Of Rome

Civic responsibilities are obligations of citizens in a region which require them to be involved in social and political issues in their community. Some examples of civic responsibilities are respecting others rights, beliefs, and opinions, serve on a jury when called upon, pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities, participate in the democratic process and stay informed on issues affecting the community. If civic responsibilities are not followed, the government would not be able to operate properly, causing the government to fail. The fall of Rome was caused by social decay, they had the military was falling behind on their duties and they spent too much money on the military, these are also some problems that the United States is facing currently. If the

One of the reasons Rome fell was because Roman citizens were not following the laws because their government did not care about their responsibilities as government officials, but more about becoming wealthy. As the article says, “Average citizens also became less loyal and less involved in public life. In earlier times Roman citizens were active in government and public affairs. In time, Roman leaders became more interested in getting rich than in public service. As a result, many citizens lost their pride and trust in government.”( Chapter 2, Lesson 2 “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”1). Roman citizens stopped following most or all their civic responsibilities, this contributed to the fall of Rome greatly. Rome’s army was also less willing to follow orders and became lazy. The soldiers stopped wearing their armor and were often defeated by the invaders. As said in Document 2, “… no one tried to restore breastplates and helmets to the infantry. Thus it happens that the troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not about