Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
Posted on 07/24/2012 6:30:44 AM PDT by Kaslin
"Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late." -- Thomas Sowell
We like to think of children as innocent little angels. Of course, that's only true in the sense that there aren't any three year olds who've stabbed their cousins to death for drug money or set up a stock swindle designed to bilk senior citizens out of their life savings. Children are not naturally good. To the contrary, they begin their lives as selfish, completely self-absorbed little savages whose entire world revolves around meeting their own needs regardless of who else it impacts. How else could they be when they're too small to take care of themselves and don't have any concept of how their demands affect people around them?
The values a society imparts to children while it's civilizing them have a great deal to do with how functional that society will be when those kids grow up. Over time, standards change. Some values are emphasized more, while others are emphasized less. Some values we place a great deal of emphasis on and others, we teach sparingly. As children absorb the "proper" way to behave from their parents, friends, schools, churches, music and television, and now, the Internet and social networks, the generational differences can be enormous. Here are five important values that are no longer being accentuated enough.
1) Chastity: My friend Dawn Eden wrote an absolutely outstanding book called The Thrill Of The Chaste. It is about her decision to become chaste at 31, something that would have once prompted very few raised eyebrows in this country. Yet disturbingly, the whole idea of encouraging virginity and chastity has become so out of the ordinary that she managed to score numerous TV interviews out of it.
No society in history has ever been as bombarded with as much sexual imagery as modern day Americans have. Between music, TV, and the Internet, Americans are constantly being told that not only is sex outside of marriage permissible, you're a failure if you're not having as much sex as possible.
That mentality has serious repercussions.
"73 percent of black children, 53 percent of Latinos and 29 percent of white children are born to unwed mothers." This has devastating consequences since "children brought up in single-mother homes ‘are five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 14 times more likely to commit rape (for the boys), 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to run away from home.’" Solid statistics on the percentage of people who commit adultery are hard to come by, but most studies suggest that roughly 25% of men and 17% of women in marriages cheat on their spouses. In addition, 1 in 4 teenage girls have some form of STD and more than 50 million children have been slaughtered via abortion since 1973.
Even if you were to set moral concerns completely aside, it's clear that we're paying an INCREDIBLE price in this country because our culture promotes promiscuity instead of chastity.
2) Shame: One of the reasons that there is such an overemphasis on creating high self-esteem in our society is that it tends to be an antidote to shame. Admittedly, shame can be a very harmful emotion and psychologists have undoubtedly spent millions of man hours trying to get their clients over issues that they never should have been ashamed of in the first place.
That being said, judging by the way people behave, there are far too many people who don't feel shame when it's appropriate. If you don't believe that, look to most of the politicians in this country, their spokesmen, people taking handouts from their fellow citizens who don't feel bad about it, 26 year olds who still want to be on their parents' insurance, the cast of Jersey Shore, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and innumerable other charlatans, leeches, and malcontents in American society.
Maybe we should stop worrying so much about low self-esteem and should start being more concerned with all the shameless people who have high self-esteem for no good reason along with a completely undeserved sense of entitlement.
3) Self-reliance: Our ancestors were some of the most self-reliant people who've ever walked the earth. They fought and defeated the super power of their day to become free, took on Spain, Mexico, and innumerable Indian tribes to acquire more land, explored a massive nation under brutally difficult conditions, and then civilized the country one wagon train at a time.
Meanwhile today, we have a record number of Americans receiving food stamps and disability payments, people are protesting in the streets because the government won't pay off their college loans for them, businesses want the government to bail them out, and many Americans would rather let future generations live in squalor rather than receive a few less dollars in Social Security and Medicare payments per month.
It's not the government's job to take care of you. It's YOUR job to take care of you. This may seem harsh and cruel to some people, but this is the philosophy responsible Americans already live their lives by. America already has far too many "takers" who have their hands out while it desperately needs more self-reliant producers.
4) Patriotism: "A thoughtful mind, when it sees a Nation's flag, sees not the flag only, but the Nation itself; and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag the Government, the principles, the truths, the history which belongs to the Nation that sets it forth." -- Henry Ward Beecher
One of the great ironies of our modern age is that the most damaging and vicious anti-American propaganda isn't supplied by Al-Qaeda, Cuba, China, Iran or any other foreign enemy. Believe it or not, the most skilled purveyors of anti-American hatred are prominent Americans who are making a wonderful living here teaching others to despise the nation where they became successful.
This is a great tragedy because if you're an American, this nation is the largest group of people you can belong to that has any genuine concern about your welfare. When Americans have a hard time, some people in other nations are happy about it, some generally wish us well, but the only people who deeply care what happens to us are other Americans. Keep in mind that we’re still hunting down and killing Al-Qaeda for what it did more than a decade ago on 9/11. Yes, there are some other countries helping a little bit, but they're doing it to stay on our good side, not because any of them want justice for the Americans who were killed. Only Americans truly care about that because it was our people who were killed.
American citizenship is a precious thing. Giving future generations the same great opportunities we've had growing up is extremely important. It's no surprise that so many Americans don't seem to understand that any more since we spend more time talking up global warming and teaching gay marriage propaganda to kids than explaining to them the importance of loving their own country.
5) Godliness: "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." -- C.S. Lewis
This is a Christian nation with a Christian history that has been successful largely because of Christian values. The less we teach those values, the less moral our country will become and the less successful we'll be. Many people don't acknowledge those basic facts because the way Christianity has shaped the culture is taken for granted. The Puritan work ethic, the decency of the people, the relative lack of corruption compared to other nations, the charitable constitution of the American people -- this comes from Christianity. The weaker Christianity becomes and the less godliness is taught, the weaker all of those American strengths become.
No legalisms, manmade ethics system, or meaningless exhortations to be “nice” can come close to replacing Christianity. The less it’s taught, the more we'll morally degrade as a people.
This why I give to the boy scouts, directly.
The perfect example of #2 is the ridiculous “Gay Pride” movement. What is there about being a homo that makes anyone “proud?” There’s a great piece to that effect on a blog called rightanglepress. It says a lot of the same things this author does.
The same thing as I was thinking. I focused on teaching my children (boys and girls) a dozen specific virtues: “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent”. That is not the sum of all positive virtues, but it’s an excellent start. Chastity, self-reliance, patriotism, shame, and godliness all follow from seeing their parents and others live the Scout Law on a daily basis. Why would a child seek out shallow sexual encounters to create a momentary feeling of self-worth or of being loved, when those feelings are an ongoing norm in their lives? Why would a child choose dependence on others, when they have learned thrift, bravery, and in general to be prepared their whole lives? As for patriotism, until the past four years, the United States of America was exceptional in embodying the Scout Law and individual freedom and virtue in the structure of the country itself. And one cannot live in a family where trustworthiness, loyalty, obedience, bravery, and reverence are expected without understanding and being susceptible to shame when falling short of those virtues. BSA is one of the best paths to these virtues, which is why it is under relentless attack from the far left.
For the second time in as many weeks, I feel the following news article from 12 years ago adds to this discussion:
Let’s get back to that old idea of an aristocracy of merit
By Charley Reese
Published in the Orlando Sentinel on April 20, 2000
It is time to revive the Jeffersonian idea of an aristocracy of merit before the last vestige of American freedom drowns in the cesspool of egalitarianism.
When I was boy, people were not shy about saying of someone who neglected or abused his family that such a person was “sorry and no good.”
And they were not shy about saying it to the sorry-and-no-good person’s face.
They did not stoop to treat a sorry-and-no-good person the same as they treated a fine-and-good person.
To do this is to betray the fine-and-good person.
Our handshake and smile should be reserved for those people whose virtue earns it.
If they are offered to people whose behavior is less than virtuous then the handshake and smile are debased and degraded.
Of what value is our approval if we grant it freely to every bum, slut, ignoramus, liar, and criminal we meet?
We become no better than a courtier who smiles at and flatters everyone in sight.
Some people don’t deserve a smile, only a cold and formal address.
It is not true that everyone is as good as anybody else.
Some people are definitely superior people, and some people are definitely inferior.
Some people are intelligent, and some people are dumb.
Some people are industrious, and some people are lazy.
Some people are kind, and some people are mean.
Some people are considerate, and some people are rude and boorish.
It is not enough to acknowledge the virtuous by our approval;
we must also acknowledge the bad by our disapproval.
Americans ought to be able to tell the difference between a communist and libertarian, between a dissolute person and a moral person, between a responsible person and an irresponsible person.
But to do that, Americans must have standards, and apparently government schools and the news media are working diligently to make sure that Americans don’t develop any standards.
Americans ought to be able to tell the difference between literature and hackwork, between art and trash, between great people and mediocrity.
At one time, they could, but of late people seem increasingly unable to form judgments.
They seem to believe that there is only one virtue and that is tolerance.
Tolerance, however, is not a virtue. It just means acquiescence, and nobody should tolerate rude behavior, irresponsible behavior, dissolute behavior, criminal behavior and the betrayal of oath and trust that is so common in Washington, D.C.
By the same token, discrimination has been made into a “bad word” though, in fact, it simply means the ability to distinguish between good and evil, the worthwhile and the not so worthwhile.
Well, there is no secret about who is pushing the society without standards.
It’s all those people who would be in deep trouble if people had standards:
talent-less bimbos;
goofballs pretending to be artists;
dissolute crooks serving in public office;
and amoral executives promoting obscenity as entertainment.
In short, the incompetent, the amoral, and the immoral.
If you go back to the 1950s, when the decline of America began, you will hear the advocates of the sexual revolution telling you that once Victorian and Puritanistic hang-ups and repression are eliminated, people will be happy, healthy and wise.
Well, all the restraints have been removed, but instead of happiness you have an explosion of crime, suicide, broken families, venereal disease, and rampant dishonesty.
Wow, what a surprise.
Hedonism is one of the oldest philosophies, and its results have always been the same: the decline, decay, and eventual collapse of civilization.
People have forgotten that only moral societies flourish.
thanks for posting.
bttt
bump
Looks like the end of the Boy Scouts might happen soon
The MSM and government schools brainwash them to think its normal
Holy crap, my July 2012 comment.
I just wrote them a check Dec 31 too.
Its sounds like they took a safe route considering that mass successful movement of gay rights the past few years.
They will accept the kids but not the gay adults.
Most comments I read here regarding this were about gay scoutmasters.
If this is true and correct me if it is not, then this is a fig leaf.
Because if they reject gay adults then how welcome will the gay kids feel in the troop w the other boys?
I dont even understand ‘gay kids’ anyway.
Why accept openly gay anything?
I am through hoping for the BSA, they have surrendered
Because the other side has won.
Because only one side was fighting this, the other side.
That is why they won.
I will have to think about it before giving them $$$ but its not as bad as we all thought and speculated.
Lets see if they just accept the kids or they accept the actions.
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