The problem is a common ideology. That is what is lacking in the country today. I believe that is a necessary component to any functioning society. The United States began with that common ideology but we have strayed a great deal from the core. That core was the belief in a " higher power " than man. It was that power that endowed us with certain inalienable rights. We began with that premise and wrote our founding documents upon that. But just what is that ideology ? That is where it begins to get dicey, in the explanation.
Definition: An ideology is a set of cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes that underlie and justify either the status quo or movements to change it. The culture of every social system has an ideology that serves to explain and justify its own existence as a way of life. Ideology can also underlie movements for social change, which rely on sets of ideas that explain and justify their purpose and methods.
I'm certain you can see the problem here. Our founding ideology is based upon Christian values and traditions. That is the central core. Our laws and actions are based in that. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 affirms that “the happiness of a people and the good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend upon piety, religion and morality, and . . . these cannot be generally diffused through a community but by the institution of the public worship of God and of public instructions in piety, religion and morality.” What ? Imagine any politician stating that fact today. Yet, there it is written down in the Massachusetts constitution. Know who wrote it ? John Adams. A familiar figure to us all. And what is he saying there ? He states the " ideology " or set of ideas to explain and justify the purpose and methods of society. That seems clear enough to me anyway. And it is that very ideology that we are attempting to remove from the American society as a whole.
Civil government depends upon, piety, religion and morality. That is what it says. So what is piety ? We tend to think of it as a religious person, often perceived to be insincere. It can also be a point of view that is accepted without thinking as conventional reverence. That is to say, we should acknowledge the existence of God. What is religion ? Religion is the practice of worshipping. Lastly we need morality. Where are those morals derived ? From our religion and belief in God. These are self evident. That is another familiar phrase often misunderstood.
Art. II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession or sentiments, provided he doth not disturb the public peace or obstruct others in their religious worship.
That is also from the Massachusetts constitution. An ideology clearly stated. Remarkable in its' choice of phrasing wouldn't you say ? It does not say God, Jesus, Mohamed or Jehovah, rather it says the great creator and supreme being. He is clearly stating the " idea " of a higher power. The point being we must acknowledge that that power exists ! We are free to worship as suits our conscious, but we have a duty to do so. It is also a right.
I would agree that the conversation has changed somewhat from 1870 when that document was ratified. Our ideology has changed over the course of time. Provisions were incorporated to facilitate those very changes. It is the abandonment of the ideology as a whole that is most troubling. Our political figures and civic leaders are often criticized for professing what we once declared to be truth. There is a higher power and we, as a society, indeed as a nation, are bound to acknowledge that. With that acknowledgement we are bound to the moral and ethical values of that same ideology ! If we now decide that it is just an idea, a possibility, the whole system collapses. And that is the problem, what is the common ideology ? What is the next big idea ?
Definition: An ideology is a set of cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes that underlie and justify either the status quo or movements to change it. The culture of every social system has an ideology that serves to explain and justify its own existence as a way of life. Ideology can also underlie movements for social change, which rely on sets of ideas that explain and justify their purpose and methods.
I'm certain you can see the problem here. Our founding ideology is based upon Christian values and traditions. That is the central core. Our laws and actions are based in that. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 affirms that “the happiness of a people and the good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend upon piety, religion and morality, and . . . these cannot be generally diffused through a community but by the institution of the public worship of God and of public instructions in piety, religion and morality.” What ? Imagine any politician stating that fact today. Yet, there it is written down in the Massachusetts constitution. Know who wrote it ? John Adams. A familiar figure to us all. And what is he saying there ? He states the " ideology " or set of ideas to explain and justify the purpose and methods of society. That seems clear enough to me anyway. And it is that very ideology that we are attempting to remove from the American society as a whole.
Civil government depends upon, piety, religion and morality. That is what it says. So what is piety ? We tend to think of it as a religious person, often perceived to be insincere. It can also be a point of view that is accepted without thinking as conventional reverence. That is to say, we should acknowledge the existence of God. What is religion ? Religion is the practice of worshipping. Lastly we need morality. Where are those morals derived ? From our religion and belief in God. These are self evident. That is another familiar phrase often misunderstood.
Art. II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons, to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for his religious profession or sentiments, provided he doth not disturb the public peace or obstruct others in their religious worship.
That is also from the Massachusetts constitution. An ideology clearly stated. Remarkable in its' choice of phrasing wouldn't you say ? It does not say God, Jesus, Mohamed or Jehovah, rather it says the great creator and supreme being. He is clearly stating the " idea " of a higher power. The point being we must acknowledge that that power exists ! We are free to worship as suits our conscious, but we have a duty to do so. It is also a right.
I would agree that the conversation has changed somewhat from 1870 when that document was ratified. Our ideology has changed over the course of time. Provisions were incorporated to facilitate those very changes. It is the abandonment of the ideology as a whole that is most troubling. Our political figures and civic leaders are often criticized for professing what we once declared to be truth. There is a higher power and we, as a society, indeed as a nation, are bound to acknowledge that. With that acknowledgement we are bound to the moral and ethical values of that same ideology ! If we now decide that it is just an idea, a possibility, the whole system collapses. And that is the problem, what is the common ideology ? What is the next big idea ?
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