Zyobot
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
I've heard comparisons with Rome pretty much my entire life. It wasn't an educated comparison, it was people saying "all empires fall, we are an empire, we look like we might fall". In that sense, I think people are probably pretty savvy but just lack the data points needed to connect the dots.
Yeah, but as you said, that’s probably because it’s the most convenient example — not because most people can really identify genuine parallels, or even know what specific customs, language, or other practices the Romans passed down to their Western successors.
That, and there’s the common misconception about present-day America being a New Roman Empire (TM), even though (going by Skall’s outline) we’re really more of a New Roman Republic (TM) in the process of becoming the actual Empire. Sadly, not many people know Rome was once a Republic, and even less that it started off as a kingdom before Tarquin was deposed.