The only way to know for sure if a path is right for you is to take and follow the path all the way to the end. Unfortunately life can only allow so many misdirection plays and crossing of paths. There are many paths to choose from and every decision everyday of one’s life can lead further down a path or force you to back up. Many people believe in one path and stick with it while others try to follow every path they get a hint of. Only one person can make this decision of a single or multiple path life and that person is you. There are many paths, but in specific four distinct groups. Every event in life can be placed on one of these four paths.
The first major path in life is most closely related to the American Dream. This path takes one through a normal life. As the old American dream cliché goes one grows up in a family with two stable parents and one other sibling. They go through their school years doing every activity from the second grade play to the senior prom. They eventually go through a four-year college and end up marrying a woman who has had a similar existence. Both work for a job they particularly like and wind up having two children, one boy, one girl and living in suburban America. They have a three-bedroom house, two cares and a wonderful bunch of neighbors. Their children will eventually follow in the same path. This path is the middle of the road path and either has a step up or a step down.
A step down from the American dream path would be the underachiever path. This starts with a person growing up in a somewhat dysfunctional family and winds up hating their early life. This path leads to a bad school experience and a state of anti-social behavior where the person misses every activity from the second grade play to the senior prom. This person will decide not to struggle through college and joins the work force out of high school. This person has no real life and completely hates their job. This person suffers though life in many different areas, which include socially, financially, and emotionally. They will wind up not having a family and will finish their life alone and sad. Thankfully there is always a step up from that crappy old American dream cliché.
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
Throughout history, many leaders have had a great impact on the societies that they ruled over. In most cases, these leaders have had both accomplishments as well as failures. One such ruler was the emperor Nero most well-known for the burning of Rome, killing/assassinations of opponents and family members and persecuted Christians. All of these facts were failures but indeed, he did have some accomplishments such as reducing taxes.
“Follow your heart. Life is not a straight line there are lots of curves, circles, and detours. Each and every experience will give you something valuable. Keep close to those you love and who love you. Family is so important. Always do your best, be honest with yourself and others, have integrity, be dependable, like who you are, change what you don't like, keep learning, keep trying, you are better than you think.” (Rodríguez)
Most of the city was burned and many of the middle class men and poor had no place to go. The fire destroyed food, materials, arms, a multitude of religious artifacts, anything that Rome would need to survive, both spiritually and physically, was mostly burned. Nero needed a lot of money to rebuild the city and his palaces, which he ran out of relatively quickly. He decided that the best approach was to increase taxes across the empire, especially in the North. The barbarians who lived under Roman control would not take this lightly. But the taxation wasn't enough. Ordering his soldiers to steal the riches from the temples of the gods in order to pay for the costs. Most Romans saw this as sacrilegious. To steal from the gods was of the highest disrespect to the gods and Rome. (Ewhelan) In time, Nero’s support declined more and more. Eventually the praetorian guard thought that this was enough and publicly deemed Nero an enemy of the State. Nero committed suicide the next day. Leaving Rome without a leader, and angered populace and army, a terrible
Saint Constantine Rome’s first emperor to convert to Christianity which at the time it was considered illegally to be a part of any religion that wasn't polytheism. Constantine was born in Naissus, Moesia (modern day Nis, Siberia) to parents Helena and Constantius who were most likely not married when Constantine was born making him an illegitimate child. Constantine gained his throne after his father Constantius died from an illness in York, United Kingdom. He gained the idea of converting to Christianity just moments before he engaged in a battle with his brother-in-law Maxentius. Supposedly, he had a dream about “Chi-Rho” the symbol of Christ and saw this as a divine symbol. He had this symbol painted onto his troops’ shield, and under this emblem they were able to walk away victorious. Because of this later on into his reign he would convert all of Roman’s empire to Christianity. He believed their teachings would unite the previously broken empire but this isn't what occurred . Constantine use of Christianity to lead the Roman Empire caused many issues to rise. I guess this is why you can say Constantine held a huge impact on Ancient Rome. He impacted their religious beliefs, laws and lastly their taxes.
Constantine, throughout his rise to power and rule in the early 300s, completely transformed the Roman Empire. The emperor accomplished this change primarily by means of bringing the Christian faith to the citizens of the empire. Constantine gave off the impression of having accepted the Christian faith, but it has often been debated whether or not he only used the religion to gain power. However, with a close analysis of his life, one can determine that while Constantine did certainly convert to Christianity, he also undeniably used the religion for political gain.
Perhaps the most notable of Emperor Nero’s damaging actions took place toward the end of his reign when, following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE, he pinned the blame for the fire on the Christians; proclaiming that Christians were responsible for the catastrophe. His justification and grounds for this allegation are, even to this day, an issue of debate among scholars because it is difficult to distinguish the extent to which the recorded histories were effected by their writer’s personal biases. Whatever Nero’s true intention was, his accusation led to a considerable amount of cruel treatment and persecution directed toward the Christian citizens of Rome. Subsequent to the allegation, the Roman Christians were viewed, and understandably so, as enemies and arsonists,
Jeffery, first I agree and appreciated the comments presented in you paragraph of Nero. To call out as selfish and cruel exposes a problem that many in today’s society gloss over. The simple fact is that Nero was selfish and cruel. Some look back on history and fail to recognize that frequently people who have persecuted Christians had evil intentions. People such as Nero were debased individuals that did wicked things. There are some rulers in history that felt they were doing the right thing. Some in their attempts as leaders did harsh things, but others go beyond harshness. Struggles tend to draw those persecuted together as was the case with the Jews after Nazi Germany fall, just as you mentioned how Nero strengthened the early Christian
The rise of Christianity had a significant impact on all aspects of the Roman Empire. Roman emperor, Constantine The Great played arguably the most crucial role in converting Rome, and his powerful actions made during the early fourth century AD had an immense impact throughout the empire. Additionally, Roman society and culture was heavily impacted during the rise of Christianity as it adapted to the Empire’s new official religion. The rise of Christianity was also an impactful factor which led to the ultimate demise of the Roman Empire in the late fifth century.
One of the most powerful emperors in Rome and the first one to identify himself as a Christian was Constantine the Great. He was known for many things especially his religious reforms. Being the son of a Roman official, this put him in line to be the next heir to the throne of the Western Empire. Constantine was very committed to his religious beliefs as well as how he followed it.
There has been much debate over the extent to which Roman Emperor’s utilized religion as a means to unify their people and garner political support. Historians argue whether Saint Constantine, the Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD
This article contains a lot of information about Nero's life from his birth to his death. It covers topics such as his early life and reign, the positive and negative aspects of his reign, and his decline in popularity. It also talks about the Great Fire and how it affected Nero's reign as well as Christianity.
In modern society, the American Dream has become all about making money and less about doing what makes you happy (Gathright). Although the American Dream was built on the foundations that anyone, no matter who they are or where they came from, could achieve it, the truth is that there are several factors that determine someone 's chances of obtaining the dream, including race, gender, and social status. Your backgrounds play a big role in determining whether you will be able to achieve the "American Dream".
In the Oxford Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as the traditional social ideals of the United States of America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. People have the right of life and liberty, but happiness is not a right. Happiness can only be given by the amount of effort a person gives. People who have determination to devote their Life and exercise their Liberty to the accomplishment of discovering their talent and use what they like doing to achieve a goal. The film, Pursuit of Happiness, shows the American Dream being achieved by the main character, Chris Gardner, by working hard and using his talents. Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness goes through overcoming obstacles which shows that the American Dream is possible through faith, perseverance, and a focus on family values.