Sunday, September 11, 2011
The last decade: Is our decline irreversible?
A powerful essay at The American Thinker comparing the state of our national character in the 1940s and that of the last ten years - actually, the last forty. There is no unity now because the American left fears fealty to Judeo-Christian values and a resolve to defeat evil more than it does America's actual enemies.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As far as I know a sovereign nation did not attack us so that kinda throws out the comparison with Pearl Harbor. WMDs were given as the rationale for invading Iraq and none were ever found. Our generation was resisted by the Greatest Generation at every step of the changes: women in the workplace with children (old maids at my wife's employer made her cry claiming that she was injuring her child by working at a desk job while pregnant), the vegetarian/yogic lifestyles v hamburgers, hotdogs and fries (although they do taste good), marijuana v. alcohol, long hair v. short (pretty petty, I know), embracing sexuality vs. being ashamed of it, rice burners v. gas guzzlers, eccumenism v. doctrinal rigidity, fathers contributing to housework and child-rearing vs. dad behind his newspaper and always elsewhere, of course our music.
ReplyDeleteWhat were we supposed to do, nuke the Middle East? I still hang my hat on Ike's numerous words against the military-industrial complex and his citing war as, well, "stupid." No, we are not weak, we are strong enough to move forward with much needed changes in our society and the world. So far there has not been a repeat of the major world war that ended just prior to our births. Isn't that worth applauding too?
"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Addressing the various comparisons of the greatest generation and subsequent generations you cite, in otherr words, we have totally embraced relativism and thrown even the notion of immutable verities out the window.
ReplyDeleteThe clash of "eternal verities" has led to much bloodshed and property damage throughout history. We are still free to hold onto whatever eternal verities we posit or who others before us have posited. For the Christian a good map is the 10 Commandments, including of course, the prohibition against killing ( I know, I know there are theological concepts such as just wars), avoiding the 7 deadly sins (pride is said to lead the pack) and holding fast to faith, hope (for peace on earth if it's God's will for us here, where the kingdom lies, some interpret Jesus as saying) and the greatest, love, love for God and neighbor.
ReplyDeleteIf conscription and quaranteening (perhaps even torturing) the enemy are eternal verities for you, well, guess those are other recent battles, if not wars you have lost.
How can you be for freedom, yet against relativism? Your verities will always clash with someone else's, won't they, as history has continually proven. Over the millennia, libraries crumbled to rubble during wars and bombings. Lamenting the loss of the ancient Alexandria library, the author covers books that perished during the Inquisition, the French Revolution and in Nazi Germany. Polastron's exhaustive research and vast scope make this detailed, authoritative study a revelatory read. ( see http://www.amazon.com/Books-Fire-Destruction-Libraries-throughout/dp/1594771677 )
But may your God, mom and apple pie fortify and console you forever. I loved my mom, think about and pray for her often, but she doesn't speak much from her grave, as is the common human lot, prefer cherry pie, and my God is as invisible as yours. Cheers and go forth to love and serve your Lord. Or, be well, do good work and keep in touch. At any rate, as you (and perhaps your God) will...
I do not fear fealty to Christian values but I often fear Christians, and when I come across those who wear it on their sleeve I have learned to watch out for their senses of entitlement, vindictiveness, judgementalism and betrayal.
ReplyDeleteSo we can put you down as saying that the USA and the West generally are basically in good shape?
ReplyDeleteNo, and actually I could be in better shape too. Drafting soldiers is a sign of strength?
ReplyDelete