All the rhetoric about " lives matter ", choose your ethnic group or nationality, is just that: rhetoric. The important message that is being lost in all of this is that our country matters ! The creation of fractures in this country, beginning at the community level, will eventually cause its' collapse. The blame lies with no particular political party, that is more nonsense. We are quickly losing our national identity. Who, or what are Americans ? Are we really any different from the rest of the world ? As people go, the answer is simply , no. As to the fabric of the nation, yes, we are cut from a different cloth. Our flag represents that. When we first started to allow the disrespect of that symbol, the decline began. Decay is a slow process. History does repeat and one only has to read it to understand that.
Our nation became great because of the common goals we shared as a nation. We also shared a common sense of moral and virtuous behaviors. I see no such goals today. I see traditional values being discarded. With the redefining of what is moral, virtue is also redefined. For what is virtue but the attainment of the highest moral standard. Lowering the standard will not increase the result. That is an old trick. We have utilized that rick in our society in recent years. We have done so in academics and now in our morals. We justify those actions with the phrase " being equitable " and " leveling the playing field " and feel superior for having done so. As if holding ourselves and others to a higher standard is somehow unjust.
The problem lies in the defining of the moral standard. Traditionally, to the chagrin of some and the bane of others, that morality has been extracted from the christian doctrine. That is why we see the abandonment of that inconvenient truth. The interpretation of that same doctrine is being used in the effort to remove it. How many times have we heard about the separation of church and state ? Yes, the two are separate but that does not mean the church doesn't play an important role in government. Just what is supposed to encourage the populace to comply with the laws established by government ? Should that rest solely on punishment issued by that same government ? Given the state of the court system today, that is certainly the easiest way, and best for the criminal. The removal of any moral investment in our actions frees us, isn't that the thinking ? As long as it is " legal " it is acceptable. The law will impose its' will upon the people !
What happened to the idea of government by the people, for the people ? Have we abandoned that ? Is that even a possibility in the nation today ? Big business, big money and big influence is running the show. That has happened solely because of apathy. As long as we get what we want, we remain unconcerned. The gravy train has begun to come off the tracks. That is simply because we have failed to pull together. Not everyone can be the engine, some of us are just the caboose.
It is the " church ", you define that, that is the glue that holds a society together. Common goals and a common morality. Laws will never replace that. Punishment will never enforce that. It is only the conscience of man that can enforce that. What is conscience ? It is that knowledge, inherent to us all, of what is right and wrong. Our conscience needs no education, but can be influenced. It is when we allow our conscience to be persuaded that we go astray. A society may define what is " moral " but our conscience must validate the action. Rhetoric is the vehicle. You must decide the destination.
Our nation became great because of the common goals we shared as a nation. We also shared a common sense of moral and virtuous behaviors. I see no such goals today. I see traditional values being discarded. With the redefining of what is moral, virtue is also redefined. For what is virtue but the attainment of the highest moral standard. Lowering the standard will not increase the result. That is an old trick. We have utilized that rick in our society in recent years. We have done so in academics and now in our morals. We justify those actions with the phrase " being equitable " and " leveling the playing field " and feel superior for having done so. As if holding ourselves and others to a higher standard is somehow unjust.
The problem lies in the defining of the moral standard. Traditionally, to the chagrin of some and the bane of others, that morality has been extracted from the christian doctrine. That is why we see the abandonment of that inconvenient truth. The interpretation of that same doctrine is being used in the effort to remove it. How many times have we heard about the separation of church and state ? Yes, the two are separate but that does not mean the church doesn't play an important role in government. Just what is supposed to encourage the populace to comply with the laws established by government ? Should that rest solely on punishment issued by that same government ? Given the state of the court system today, that is certainly the easiest way, and best for the criminal. The removal of any moral investment in our actions frees us, isn't that the thinking ? As long as it is " legal " it is acceptable. The law will impose its' will upon the people !
What happened to the idea of government by the people, for the people ? Have we abandoned that ? Is that even a possibility in the nation today ? Big business, big money and big influence is running the show. That has happened solely because of apathy. As long as we get what we want, we remain unconcerned. The gravy train has begun to come off the tracks. That is simply because we have failed to pull together. Not everyone can be the engine, some of us are just the caboose.
It is the " church ", you define that, that is the glue that holds a society together. Common goals and a common morality. Laws will never replace that. Punishment will never enforce that. It is only the conscience of man that can enforce that. What is conscience ? It is that knowledge, inherent to us all, of what is right and wrong. Our conscience needs no education, but can be influenced. It is when we allow our conscience to be persuaded that we go astray. A society may define what is " moral " but our conscience must validate the action. Rhetoric is the vehicle. You must decide the destination.
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