Posted on 07/05/2003 11:41:38 PM PDT by LdSentinal
I suffer from what I call the Scarlett O'Hara syndrome: "I can't think about that today; I'll think about that tomorrow." Tomorrow is now today, and I'm forced to look squarely at things that I'd rather not think about. Sort of like turning over rocks and trying not to notice what's crawling underneath.
The last time I saw a movie about Sodom and Gomorrah, I was shaken by the similarities between that long ago place and the America that I see today.
America is the greatest nation in the world. We are the most envied, the richest, the most powerful and, I believe, still the most respected of all nations.
America is also the nation that leads industrialized countries in murder rates, violent crime, imprisonment, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, teen suicide, divorce, single-parent households, drug use, pornography and failing schools. As a noted moralist once remarked, "We have become the kind of place to which civilized countries used to send missionaries."
America has become a place where heroes have been replaced by celebrities, honor replaced by fame, success and achievement replaced by popularity. Instead of human respect, we have political correctness. Much of America has become the "what's-in-it-for-me state." Our culture embraces self-gratification, and moral principles have crossed all boundaries.
We parents have done a wonderful job of providing the material things for our children that our parents and grandparents were unable to provide for us. But we've fallen far short in providing the essentials that our ancestors provided: honor, integrity, commitment, truthfulness, responsibility and many other virtues that were a part of our everyday lives.
We have become morally bankrupt, and it is destroying our country. We have lost our self-respect, and it is jeopardizing our future.
Our moral principles were always, in the past, a part of American culture. They were based on faith. The Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments and the Bible served as moral guides. Now the country that was founded on the principle of religious freedom finds itself battling to remove all thoughts and symbols of religion from our lives. Of all the wars America has fought, the current war on religion will prove to be, by far, the most destructive.
A culture in which "everything goes" and the only sin left is being judgmental is headed for a moral abyss. Without judgment, justice is impossible. Our legal system is based on judgment. Without it there will be no punishment for wrongdoing. But an even greater responsibility rests with us, as citizens, to set the standards of judgment in our everyday lives. When we are confronted with wrongdoing and unethical behavior in our midst, we have a responsibility to speak out and, God forbid, be judgmental.
Our form of self-government requires that people make reasonable judgments based on moral principles. If past generations had adhered to this nonjudgmental philosophy, we would still have slavery and child labor. Indeed, being judgmental is one of the few principles of a free society that establishes the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
Americans now place moral decline at the top of their lists of items in need of repair. This can be read as an indication that our moral problems are worsening. We seem to be saying, "Let's put away these childish things: concepts of God, our human soul and moral responsibility."
The course on which we are headed is a disastrous one. When we are headed in the wrong direction, going ahead is not progress. The only sensible thing to do after taking a wrong turn is to turn around and go back.
The turn we have taken is definitely a wrong one. The road signs are enormous. How did we miss them?
We cannot maintain that which we are not willing to defend, and we are losing the America that we love.
..A culture in which "everything goes" and the only sin left is being judgmental..
amen.
So a broke person is going to somehow become "moral" as a result?
I don't think so.. I think it goes allot deeper than being poor or having a tough life, as the jails are of such people.
It has to do with basic morality, good parenting, respect for religion and the concept of: "Regardless if you profit personally from the endeavor, right is right simply because God said so. Thus doing what's right should be your goal."
You're living in a dream world. Stop deceiving yourself. The dark side has won over America.
I can think of one reason. Hollywood.
You're living in a dream world. Stop deceiving yourself. The dark side has won over America.
You're cynical...clearly so jaded by what wrong with this nation that you are unable to see the good.
I agree with the above poster. With all the evil and darkness allowed to exist in this free country...it astounds me how many good and God loving people there still are in this nation.
And the part of the US that suffers the most from these items is the bible belt.
Not sure what that means...I don't even go to PG movies.
The two of you should stand before God and say "This is the embodiment of your will, Lord, the United States in 2003, we know you will be pleased.".
Are there people in this country who are on the wrong track? Of course there are. Are they the majority? Not by a long shot.
Can't you think of a more effective method of debate than to make silly assumptions about my surroundings? The people around me are fine and believe what I do -- that the number of moral people is certainly less than one-third, and sliding down the slippery slope. The complacency of people and the tolerance and unwillingness to protest against evil in our society (while at the same time attending church, in many cases) is the subtle kind of creeping deterioration in morals that disturbs me. [There are a very few encouraging things, such as the reported climb in numbers of women against abortion].
All you had to do was watch this country after 9-11 and see what the hearts were made of. I think you might well have a problem with discernment, or perhaps you have an ego problem where, if people don't think exactly like you they must be "evil".
There is plenty of evil in this world without you trying to manifest it where it doesn't exist.
You're absolutely correct. I read "Holy Spirit Revivals" by Charles Finney a while back. What an eye opener as to what life was like in "the good old days".
We must never forget that in the early days of the Bible, God was so disgusted with the human race that he sent sent a flood to wipe out all but Noah and family.
Matthew 24: 37-39 says,
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
I can't help but believe that the trump will sound most any time.
And if another country sent missionaries here, the left would try to throw them in jail. Communists don't like God much.
That's right, buying Chinese-made American flags at Wal-Mart and purchasing a new fire truck for NYC proves that the majority of Americans are living the lives that Jesus directed us to live.
There is plenty of evil in this world without you trying to manifest it where it doesn't exist.
You seem to be the the very manifestion of complacency. Is there any further deterioration in the morals of this country that would cause you to question your sanguine outlook?
I think 9-11 was a wake up call for this country. It made us stop to think about what we, as a country, want to be. I like the direction we're going, and I have great hope for what we're going to accomplish.
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