The oft-recited close of T.S. Eliot’s celebrated 20th century poem The Hollow Men captures a truth about the fall of Rome and other tragic losses: “not with a bang but a whimper”. Meaning that in human affairs, catastrophe seldom arrives via a meteor strike but rather by a slow rollout of flaws that are part of who we are.
The 21st century update may argue that the way the world ends is not with a bang but a click, one short keystroke on a Facebook page.
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