Foolish Wisdom

Recently, I've been really really involved with a PC game called Rome: Total War. It's basically a historic type war strategy game. The game takes you back to ancient Rome. So I've been researching about ancient roman wars and warcraft. In a few online texts (and in the game) I am amused by how the Romans would justify their conquests on Gaul (Germanic Tribes aka. The Gallic People). They would market their cause by telling the Roman people that the Gaul is a land of hairy barbarians that lurk in the woods waiting and plotting to destroy anything that is civilised. Of course nowadays an excuse like that to wage war on another would be largely seen as uneccessary aggression - or is it? If we draw a parallel with the ancient Romans and modern day U.S.A. we will see the same sort of tactic to sell war to their own people. The Romans - We must destroy these hairy barbarians who live only to destroy everything that is civilised! The United States of America - We must destroy these terrorists who live only to destroy everything that represents, and is freedom!