Redefining Moral Decline? (Updated and reposted from 2016)

 

“This country is in moral decline. I just wish we would return to our Christian values and turn back to God.” 

"I came across this comment on a social media thread tonight, and as a Christian it made me more than a bit nauseous. I hear this sentiment from fellow believers often, and whenever I do I always wonder just what “Christian values” they’d like America to return to: 

To women not being able to vote?

To people owning slaves?

To segregation?

To street pistol duels and packs of vigilantes meting out justice in the town square?

To organized crime running urban police forces?

To women being marital property? 

Are these the “ol’ time religion” days these folks openly pine for; the days when America was apparently so much more reverent, so much more righteous, so much more Godly than it is today?"

-- John Pavlovitz, The Christian Myth of America's Moral Decay

 

John Pavlovitz, states he is a pastor and a writer. I'd be willing to bet he's also progressive since his view of today's societal sewer seems to be rosier than that of yesteryear. I think, as far as moral decay goes, the only change is that the corpse of morality has progressed to full putrefaction that even maggots shy away from. Let's run down my thoughts on the examples he offered in his above rant, shall we?

Yes, women can vote!  They get to worry over which pile of politically smelly fecal matter is better than the next so they can also vote to continue the country's decline into even worse moral decay.  Women can now supervise, manage and own corporations, lose their asses in the stock market, cheat on their husbands (with their secretaries), become alcoholics, chain smoke their way to lung cancer, get high blood pressure, and have massive heart attacks and strokes as they work themselves to death.  Woo-hoo!  Welcome to the man's world!  We willingly surrender it to you, with our condolences.

Yes, there is still slavery; the only difference is the color of the master has changed. Now blacks are the new slave owners, beating their own people into submission so they can be used for political and monetary power during our continued decline. Black leadership discovered what white leadership has known for some time, if you can offer poor, uneducated people what they want to hear, give them a taster, and make them believe in bullshit like "hope and change," you will have a voter you can continue to lie to forever. Our leaders have become so good at this that even educated folks of all races get caught up in the BS and start believing all the hype. No, non-minorities don’t get a free pass; they are also slaves, indentured servants to the banks and credit card companies of which many will never learn to get out from under.  

Contrary to the commercial on television, it isn't what is in your wallet, but who.  The owners of credit card companies, loan and mortgage agencies, and anyone else you owe money to, are the new slave owners of you, the indentured servant, who will, in all probability, never see the day of "free and clear."  Everyone has been "integrated" into the new slavery.

Integration is so wonderful! Been to an inner-city school? Little has changed.  Education and "hope and change" are the victims of our new moral decay. Integration was the right thing to do, but let's not paint a rosy face on it as though it accomplished anything for the education of our students.  What was needed was a safe place to learn, with quality teachers who actually taught required subjects, like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Education, for the most part, is a failed program we followed up with the other failed program, "Affirmative Action." We have progressed nowhere through "integration," and minorities, those that haven't given up, are still fighting for an education so they can escape the inner city "hoods."

When did duels and vigilantism stop?  It didn't.  It's just another anachronism that simply changed color.  Now, only black lives matter and we've upped the ante with minority-cop assassinations by cowardly black terrorists, shooting their victims while they're sitting in their squad cars like sitting ducks.  We've also added looting, rioting, and, lest we forget, burning down neighborhoods, to their vigilante repertoire.  But, wait!  These were also part of yesterday's moral decay, as well.  I guess burning down your own house just comes with the territory?

I think we can all agree that urban police forces operate at the whim of political winds, so if politicians are in control, the cops are still being run by organized crime.  I mean, really... right?

Women are no longer marital property. Women get the "elevator" of today's marriages, and men get the proverbial "shaft." As for equality, ask the men, the fathers, who have had to surrender their children to immoral, irresponsible, or crackhead mothers because of our screwed-up judicial system.  Let's look at the statistics of fathers wanting to be fathers and having been prevented from fully enjoying the lives of their children.  There are enough deadbeat dads to go around, so this is the judicial system's tact to compound the problems incurred by fatherless families. 

Is there equality in marriage?  Prenups, divorce, alimony, and child support would evidence the big resounding "NO!" The pendulum swings like a pendulum do, only too damned far, and too damned often.

If things haven't gotten worse they've certainly swung way too far to the other end of the spectrum, in most cases.  But I think "Pastor John" misses the point behind the statement, “This country is in moral decline. I just wish we would return to our Christian values and turn back to God.”  Where he seems to have locked onto the negative, I immediately thought of the positive of my childhood and yesteryear.

First of all, I find it odd that a member of the "Christian clergy" would take umbrage with Christian values.  Right off the bat, I have to struggle with the hypocrisy of it all.  Having said this, I also agree that we need to return to a system of moral values, and they don't necessarily have to be Christian.  The decay in our society is due to our own bad decision making which has led to the collapse of good, moral, values, for everyone.

When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, my parents actually practiced good parenting.  What a concept!  They taught me about respect, honesty, and an honest day's wage for an honest day's work, the benefit of education and being a law-abiding citizen, and the benefits of staying out of debt through saving and layaway (if you can't afford to buy it, you shouldn't).  I was also taught about patriotism, the Constitution; the love of our country, and our flag.  Mom also made sure I got three square meals a day; early on, that meant leftovers.  Later in life, I still go out of my way to still make enough for leftovers.

I went to a school where the subject of race wasn't an obvious issue.  Black, Asian, and Latino, we all got along and had fun.  California in the sixties was already embracing the alternative lifestyles of gays and interracial relationships. I had no real experience with racism until I joined the military.  So, when some minority tells me how bad life is, my points of reference are the hard-working minority kids I grew up with, all of which graduated with a real education and went on to work for good pay at real jobs. 

Most importantly I was taught that, through hard work and determination, we could be anything we wanted to be and not to let anyone tell us differently.  There is no such thing as a "free lunch," and if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  I also learned about choices and consequences, punishment and praise, and societal survival.  I credit the military for teaching me real survival.

Survival in society?  When a police officer tells you to stop, you try not to wet yourself, and you immediately stop.  If they tell you to get down on the ground, you "french kiss" the pavement.  When a soldier goes into battle and returns, you don't spit on them; you shake their hand and thank them for their selfless sacrifice and bravery.  You don't "defund" police, and you show appreciation to soldiers and first responders.

Society is a system of rules and laws put in place for our benefit.  If you have a complaint, you voice it; you don't burn down your own house, you certainly don't burn down your own neighborhood, nor do you randomly kill your neighbors just because things are bad.  You get off your dead ass, take legal action, or vote to fire those in charge.  You change your reality.  

Peaceful demonstration and freedom of speech are guaranteed, but burning, looting, and rioting are criminal mob behavior that should be quelled with a track-mounted, chain-fed, fifty-caliber weapon positioned at the end of the block and firing liberal amounts of ammo into the crowd until the rioting ceases.  The atrocity will be plastered and decried all over the liberal news, but it will only have to happen one time.  Next time the fifty cal rolls up, everyone will simply run away, peacefully go home, or find out that God truly has a plan for weeding out the terminally stupid.  Inhumane? So, burning, looting, and rioting, criminal mob behavior, is sane?  Just saying.  I like the idea of fighting like with like.

Were things better back in the day?  Certainly, but it wasn't perfect, nothing ever is.  There were some serious issues that needed to be addressed to ensure we all have an equal shot, through equal effort.  That didn't happen because "equal effort" was not an expectation.  And superior effort, well... why bother?  Today, the liberals have decided that effort is still not an expectation, and being the best has been relegated to "participation" awards.  Affirmative action ensured that quotas were much more important than ability.  Moral decay has become more decadent in its definition, and maybe that's because it's become the least of our worries, next to survival. 

It is said, and I believe, that change is the only constant in the universe.  Unfortunately, yesterday's pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction or has flown off into left field somewhere inflicting more damage than good, and proving the highway to hell really is paved with the best of misdirected intentions.  The lists of good and bad from yesterday and today have certainly changed; the bad is a different kind of bad, and the good is not necessarily a better kind of good.  

“This country is in moral decline. I just wish we would return to our Christian values and turn back to God.”  This statement is still valid.  It is valid because things aren't any better than they were yesteryear, they're just different.  Moral values, Christian or not, are on life support.  Parenting is, for the most part, a forgotten talent our parents forgot to pass on, probably because divorce is more popular than marriage, and children are left to be indoctrinated by government-approved unions. This might be changing, however, as parents are finding that they have no voice in their children's education that they pay good tax dollars to provide. 

Hell, public education was a joke when I was in school during the 1960s; and, unfortunately, it hasn't gotten any better.  The national education programs, once again due to union control, rely on quotas instead of quality.  The marching orders? If the kids can't pass the test for the curriculum, make the tests easier, and screw firing the incompetent teacher. We need to ensure no child gets left behind, right?  Well, have you ever wondered why death from surgery at hospitals is the leading cause of death in the country?  Just because you're a doctor, doesn't mean you're any good, or that you actually learned anything of substance.

Parenting, eating dinner around the table as a family, family outings, assisting with homework, monitoring bedtimes and television, and striving to be the best you can be are all values that have gone away, and we, as a country, are poorer for it.

This is just a way-too-long post I offer up for you to chew on.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony: tolerantpastor@gmail.com