The history of nineteen of the twenty-one great civilizations is "the story of people trudging up a hill in wooden shoes and coming down in silk stockings. "(76) These civilizations existed in the same pattern of birth, growth, breakdowns, and decline. The decline of these civilizations was not by external means, but through internal decay initiated by man, "master of his own destiny. "(28:30) Will America follow the same pattern of other civilizations? If so, what position does America hold on the "hill" today
