Thrones Of Yesteryears

Thrones can mean special chairs used by kings and queens at important ceremonies, as symbols of their high and elevated status. Thrones symbolize high and exalted positions held by individuals and nations, at different historical periods. Some thrones are hereditary, while others can be achieved by might, popular goodwill of the masses, by cunning, blusters and subterfuge. Some last longer than others.
There have been various serious studies on the rise and fall of kings, kingdoms, principalities and powers over different periods in history. Key emphasis in such studies is largely to find out reasons and causes of the fall of great kings and nations. It would not be enough to resort to the hackneyed cliché that righteousness exalts a nation while sin destroys it, because, no individual or nation is really righteous.
History is largely the study of the causes of events and patterns of human organizations and ideas – a study of the changes that take place over time and the forces that brought them about. Many desolate and backward places across the globe today show some traces of better days in the past, for example, the great Mali Empire.
Ancient Egyptian civilisation rose and perfected techniques in irrigation and other works of art; giving humanity a national religion with emphasis on a doctrine of personal immortality, of reward and punishment after death. Principal reason for the doctrine of ancient Egypt was the mixture of magic and deceit with religion, coupled with tyranny and the arrogance of power. There was also the culture of influence peddling.
Ancient Assyrians rose prominently as a nation of warriors, giving humanity a legacy of building up great military machine. They became the most hated of all nations of antiquity because of their unparalleled brutality and callousness. Despite their military might and the fear they instilled in other nations, the decline and fall of the Assyrians arose from conspiracy and ill will.
The Greeks and Romans ruled the world during their era of glory, giving humanity the spirit of free inquiry, whereby knowledge became supreme over faith. Despite their fame, decline came from many internal contradictions, among which was the love of disputation and intellectual sophistry.
Contribution of the Hebrews and Christian civilization gave humanity much shining light but soon, hypocrisy, bigotry and conceit clouded the glorious promises. In a similar way Islam was assaulted by a split into two sects – Shiites and Sunnites, in 656 AD. Thus two dominant religions which were meant to bring light to humanity were assaulted by schisms, splitting the world and reducing the focus of their doctrines.
The Punic Wars and the Crusades soon drove home the lesson that human beings are restless and self-seeking creatures, with a propensity to destroy all things bright and beautiful. Historically, causes of the fall of great nations and civilizations have been attributed to militarism and war-mongering tyranny, oppression and expansionist drive; unfair taxation of the poor masses, to support the rich and mighty and their armies; shamelessness and abuse of womanhood. All these lapses gave rise to internal quarrels and instability.
As with kingdoms, nations and corporate bodies so also with individuals and families, with respect to the theory of social and cultural dynamics. Surely, glorious times and good things of life come and go; corruption and other social vices rise and leave sad trails in society. But, behind such phenomena, there are traces of a regulating mechanism. Among various causes listed for the fall of nations, there is one that is receiving serious attention currently.
Thanks must go to some of my academic colleagues in the search for Why Nations Fail. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, for their works in political, economic and military causes for the origin of failures. Stephen R. Covey, for his emphasis on the Brain Dominance Theory as the source of human failure–the mechanism of the right and left hemispheres of the human brain.
Briefly, humans are endowed with objective, sensory or intellectual faculty and also extra-sensory or intuitive faculty, both as tools or means of perception and addressing the challenges of life. Regular and excessive exertion of one hemisphere of the brain resulted in under-utilisation and under-development of the section not explored. Whereas both the intellectual and the intuitive media of perception should be developed equally and applied according to their functions, the intellect was allowed to become dominant and also domineering in all affairs.
The challenge for those who share this line of thought is how to balance the media of perception so that inferior or subordinate, support-tool is not used to address issues that are beyond its scope to handle. Thrones, systems and programs would continue to collapse where they use the wrong tool to stand.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer at the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Bright Amirize