the fall of empires

I heard someone on the radio the other day (on one of
the right wing programs) talking about the 'gay marriage'
issue. He said that homosexuality was a major reason
for the fall of the Roman Empire--leading his listeners to
a conspicuous conclusion about the potential fate of
America, perhaps? Ah, the joys of simplistic thinking!

I've read quite a bit about that fall, and while decadence/
moral decline is often listed among the many reasons for
Rome's fall, I've never seen homosexuality specifically
targeted--except by right wing pundits and (Western)
religious conservatives/fundamentalists. I'm neither gay
nor an advocate of 'gay marriage,' but these partisans are
obviously trying to impose their prejudices upon history in
order to support their political and religious views. Nice try.

What is rather compelling is that other factors--such as
trade deficits, inflation, unemployment, political corruption,
inefficiency, authoritarianism, and military spending--have
been mentioned in legitimate, unbiased historical studies
of the fall of the Roman Empire. Are there perhaps some
overlooked lessons that America can learn from history?

You can find relevant articles on the fall of Rome
at Killeenroos.com and National Geographic.