In my intermittent quest to compare today’s American civilization with that of the decline of the Roman empire, I’ve decided that the general populace awaiting life or death verdicts on the edge of their recliners is much like the spectators at gladiator events, waiting for the thumbs up/thumbs down to signal death or life, on the edge of their seats in the coliseum. Also, I just happened to see Gladiator recently.
An apt analogy, I think.