Unemployment – Umbricius said “It is no easy matter, anywhere, for a man to rise when poverty stands in the way of his merits: but nowhere is the effort harder than in Rome.” I would definitely change that last word to America.
Illegal immigration – The same issue happened in Rome. People that were rich and well educated were called Romans; they inherited the same rights that romans had. Unfortunately, just like in the present time, this happens just to the people that are influential, while the rest of them, are just barbarians.
Gun control – The romans had very strict laws regarding homicide; however anyone could have taken revenge by their own hands. We see that anyone could possess a gun for their own protection; nevertheless sometimes people didn’t use the guns for that purpose.
Drug abuse – I can’t tell if Rome had this same problem. I think that it is very probably that the problem existed but not in the same proportions as today.
Lack of honesty – In Juvenal writings, Umbricius said “Since there is no room for honest callings in this city, no reward for labour; since my means are less to-day than they were yesterday, and to-morrow will rub off something from the little that is left […]”. Sometimes I feel that this is the most accurate description for the times that we are living. Sadly, sometimes all you can say is that “there is no room for honest” things anymore. And Umbricius goes on and exposes the lack of honesty of their governors, he says, “no man will get my help in robbery, and therefore no governor will take me on his staff”.
To conclude I just want to point out that social problems have been recurrent and repetitive in the human society. They began a long time ago, and we have never been able to stop them. As far as I’m concerned, the social problems have existed always; the only thing we have done is learn to control and deal with them.
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