Being the bright ray of sunshine that I am, I sometimes walk through the bustling streets of New York City thinking to myself: “Someday this will all be gone, dead, or forgotten.”
I don’t believe people really think about it much, but we tend to act as if where we are and what we know will always be as they are. (Personally, I still can’t believe CBGBs is gone.) But if the patterns of civilization show us anything its that either through “progress”, cultural shifts, moral implosion, war, or any number of ways, villages die, cities crumble, and empires fall.
What was once strong, prosperous, and glorious eventually becomes moss covered fodder for gaudily dressed, camera pointing tourists.
Walking through the ruins of Angkor Wat I couldn’t help thinking the same thing. I’m sure its inhabitants thought their kingdom would last forever…
Just like the rest of us.