Ways of the World Chapter 19: Sick Man Of Europe

I found it interesting to read about how the Ottoman Empire, which was once viewed as one of the most powerful empires in the world, weakened greatly in the early 19th century. The Ottoman Empire was the leader of a variety of nations and controlled most of the Arab world and it shocked me to see that a nation so powerful could fall so suddenly. Then I realized that this was a common phenomenon that occurred in many of the powerful nations in the past. This in a way, slightly scares me, because the United States is constantly growing in power and I cannot help but think when it is our turn to fall. As the United States continues to grow as a nation, the chances of us falling, I feel greatly increases. It is important that the United States government pays attention to the stability of the country which I am sure that they do, but I am afraid we are headed down the path that many nations in the past may have followed, which lead to their overall downfall.