Punkonomics (@DearBalak)

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/06/as-the-romans-did/306048/

“We have a superficial access to the outside world, but it gives us the illusion of having fairly intimate access. And that’s a dangerous thing. We see bombings in marketplaces. We see terrorist acts within minutes of their occurrence. We see National Geographic documentaries. In a sense, we can press a button and see the rest of the world. But in some ways, this is either an idealized view of the world, or it’s uncontextualized snapshots, or it’s acts of violence that become so familiar that they lose their meaning. It comes to a point where it may not be all that different from the notations on ancient maps that say, ‘Here be dragons.'”

thanks to Bri B. for this

http://www.amazon.com/Are-We-Rome-Empire-America-ebook/dp/B0085TK6V6