Walking Among Gods

In the article by J.J Buck, "The Gods Are Watching", paints a picture of the city of Rome as a city that has long been renowned for it's historical importance but now finds its' history holding it back more than moving it forward in today's modern world. Buck talks about going out to see the sights, "without once thinking of the duty to see". I thought this point was particularly interesting because there is some truth to that. It seems like when people visit Rome, or even Italy in general there is this unspoken feeling of obligation to go to certain places and sites. One example could be the Vatican, what was once a symbol of religious austerity and leadership, now appears to serve more of a monetary purpose rather than a religious one. Later in the article Buck makes the comment, "human will flatlined by history". While much of the article is a bit confusing and not applicable to younger readers the concept of "walking among the gods" and ghosts among us, to me reiterates this idea of Rome's struggle between maintaining the historic while pressing forward into the future. In many cultures ghosts are spirits caught in limbo, I think the current state of Rome somewhat represents this idea; in a way the city of Rome is caught in limbo, caught between the then and now. The ghosts of Rome's history linger among the modern advances of the city, trying to find their place in the "new" history of Rome.