The Mall of Rome

We arrived at our grandparents' house in Kirkland (a nice little city right by Bellevue and Seattle--I've probably told you that before) for Thanksgiving. We took a few hours today to wander about Bellevue Square Mall. It was fun, but something that really struck me--and I don't know why it did this time; I must have been to the Square several dozen times in my life--was how incredibly rich and luxurious the place was. It's a really nice place and pleasant to wander about, but even so, its sheer opulence freaked me out a bit.
We've been studying ancient Rome in History class, and the subject has come up a couple of times of how much America resembles ancient Rome. We have conquered a massive chunk of land, we have a huge population, we are very rich and are overall one of the most (if not the most) powerful countries in the world. Well, we all know what happened to Rome, don't we?
It fell. Collapsed. Crashed 'n' burned. Went down in flames. And all that jazz. And wandering in a place like Bellevue Square, which is (one of) the epitome(s) of American wealth, opulence and, yes, decadence, one can't help wondering when the Great American Empire will fall.
An optimistic thought for your holiday weekend. I'm really not trying to be all gloom and doom, but that's how it is. Cheers. And a happy Thanksgiving to y'all.