Our Golden Age

We media types obsess about America’s problems.

But we should acknowledge that today, life in America is better than life has been anywhere, ever.

For most of history, the norm was hunger, disease, illiteracy, slavery and war. There were a few exceptions some of those problems) -- so-called golden ages, Ancient Athens, Rome, the Renaissance, etc.

In our new video, historian Johan Norberg, author of the new book “Peak Human,” looks at the miracle of the Roman Empire, which at one point extended throughout most of Europe, and parts of Africa and Asia.

Ancient Rome inspired our form of government, a republic with a system of checks and balances. “

There is a reason why we have a Senate and they meet in the Capitol,” explains Norberg. “We borrow these ideas from the Romans.”

The Romans were ferocious warriors, but so were many at the time. The Romans were able to create an empire because they tried new things: “

They gave people among the subjected the ability to have a second career in Rome,” says Norberg. “They made them citizens and allowed them to do business, to have a career in the military. Some of the subjected people could even end up being emperors!” “

The conquered - some became emperors?” I ask. “The son of a freed slave eventually ended up on the throne of Rome. That tells you something about the power of meritocracy and of openness. You’ll get the best brains if you’re open to more people.”

Rome thrived because the Romans took ideas and talent from all over the world. They didn’t do it to be kind. “

Tolerance was a weapon, often literally a weapon,” Norberg explains. “They got their swords from the Spaniards, ships from Carthage, new business models from other groups. Because Rome was such a huge integrated free trade area, you could source the best material, the best technology from any part of the empire. Therefore, they could become the masters of the world.”

Of course, eventually, Rome fell.

There were many reasons. Disease, barbarian invaders, and one reason that modern societies should fear: entitlement spending.

Norberg says Rome collapsed because of: “

Bread and circuses. The emperors wanted to become popular by handing out free stuff to people. Originally, this started small. You just handed the very poor means of subsistence. But it was popular, so the group that lived on the public’s expense grew larger all the time. Emperors complained about this. Everyone from Caesar and onwards said, ‘We’ve got to reform this system because it means that we have fewer people working and more people consuming.’ But no one succeeded.”

It reminds me of the unsustainable promises we see today: Social Security and Medicare in the U.S., absurd retirement promises in other countries -- welfare plans going broke. “

Once you have an ever-expanding system of entitlements that you can’t afford,” says Norberg, “that’s often the beginning of the decline and fall ... Romans could conquer the world, but they couldn’t do entitlement reform.”

Instead, Roman emperors did what modern governments do: MAGNOLIA GAZETTE “ERROR OF OPINION MAY BE TOLERATED WHERE REASON IS LEFT FREE TO COMBAT IT” ...THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1801 LUCIUS LAMPTON, M.D., Editor-in-Chief MARK I. LAMPTON, Business Manager ALYCE SIMPSON, Managing Editor NANCY MORRIS, Office Manager, Osyka Reporter, Publisher’s Assistant NANCY LEBLANC, Contributing Editor JAMES HARRIS, Contributing Editor DAVID MORRIS, Contributing Editor CARROLL CASE, Contributing Editor DWALIA SOUTH, M.D., North Miss. Correspondent MELISSA JOHNSON, Social Editor STANLEY HARTNESS, M.D., Natchez Trace Correspondent SCOTT ANDERSON, M.D., Fine Arts Editor TOMMY YOUNG, Sports Photographer CHARLES W. “TREY” EMERSON, M.D., Poetry Editor LUCINDA LAMBTON, European Correspondent BENNETT SIMPSON, Digital Editor FREDERICK W. REIMERS, Outdoors Editor FORD DYE, M.D., Oxford Beat Writer TERRY JACKSON, City Editor JIM MCELWEE, County Editor JUDY CAUSEY LOVE, S.E. 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Burke Periodical postage paid for at Magnolia, MS Post Office Member, Mississippi Press Association Member, National Newspaper Association Subscriptions: $25 in Pike, Amite & Walthall Counties, & Tangipahoa Parish $40 Elsewhere PUBLICATION POLICY All interested individuals are invited to submit letters, articles, opinions, cartoons, photos and other material of general interest to this publication. Submissions must be accompanied by a signature and bear the mailing address and phone number of the author. Letters to the editor will be edited for space and clarity, and the editor reserves the right to reject letters due to length, available space or libelous content. Deadline on all copy will be 12 noon Friday. The views expressed by the articles in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. POSTMASTER: Please send changes of address to 280 Magnolia Street, Magnolia, Mississippi 39652 web site: www.magnoliagazette.com OUR GOLDEN AGE by John Stossel Red Bellied Lions by Daniel Gardner, Special to the Gazette We teach students how to give speeches. Actually, we teach them a lot more than that, but at the end of the semester each student must give an informative and a persuasive speech which must be 5-7 minutes long. I n f o r m a t i v e speeches this semester included “How forensic science helps to solve crimes,” “Reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park,” and “How neurolink works.” Persuasive speeches included “Improving public transportation infrastructure,” “Juveniles shouldn’t be tried as adults,” and “Making a fake topic along with fake facts.” The student who spoke about reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone set up his classmates to fall for his persuasive speech about the decline of the “Red Bellied Lion.” His real topic was about dangers of fake news. Joe began his speech, “Imagine that you are a young Red Bellied Lion. You are just now getting to learn to hunt, you get to play with your siblings, and get loved on by your mom. You spend your days trying to catch bugs and lounging in the sun. All of a sudden, a hunter appears and shoots your mother and captures you and your siblings in a net. You watch as you’re dragged away from not only your family but life as you know it. “You are sold to a circus where you experience cruel training so humans can laugh and watch you jump through hoops and stand on high platforms. You are kept in a dirty pen and only get fed just enough to keep your ribs from showing. Your life is a living hell.” Joe had hooked nearly every student in class. Then he applied the coup de grâce. “Not only are poachers killing these animals and selling them. But thanks to deforestation, the remaining places that these animals have to hunt and raise their families are also disappearing.” Then he asked for a show of hands. “Who has ever heard of the red bellied lions?” Only one hand raised tentatively. Then, “Who is upset by what is happening and wants to help change things for this species?” Hands shot up across the room. Finally, “What if I told you this is all made up?” Then he came clean, “My speech is actually about fake news. This is a recurring problem today thanks to biased news coverage and social media agendas. According to ‘Fake News Statistics and Facts’ 38.2% of US news consumers unknowingly share fake news on social media. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot of people but it’s actually millions of people.” Joe shared how he persuaded his classmates. “None of you knew anything about this topic so I was able to use that to my advantage that no one at this moment could fact check me. I appealed to your softer side with a story about the cruelty that these lions went through. I was also able to throw in something that many of you know about which was deforestation. You knew that this problem affected other animals, so it made sense that this also hurt an animal you never even heard of.” Joe has easily made an A in this course. He has also taught his fellow classmates to think before spreading fake news. Joe concluded, “You shouldn’t believe everything someone tells you just because you might trust them.” I always learn something from my students. Thursday, November 20, 2025 Page A3 MAGNOLIA GAZETTE

printed more money. Actually, since they used coins, not paper money, they devalued their currency by putting less gold and silver in each coin. “

Inflation was much worse than barbarian invaders,” says Norberg. “The emperor blamed greedy businessmen -- something that we hear today. He imposed price controls on 1,000 goods. But obviously, it all failed. Prices kept rising and undermined the Roman Empire completely.”

Today, America is one of the richest and most inventive countries in the world. Will our “golden age” continue? “

One of the most worrying signs in history is you begin to take wealth and comfort for granted,” says Norberg. “You forget what made it possible to begin with. I see a lot of worrying signs right now. We have a backlash against things that keep our society innovative, like trade, migration, unsustainable debts ... But that doesn’t mean that we’re doomed ... It’s not automatic, this decline and fall phase. You can unleash new waves of innovation and progress. There is still time. We can still save this golden age.”