You may find the news increasingly upsetting lately. There is more coverage of murder, more surveys showing that young people under 40 want communism (socialism, Marxism, etc.), and free stuff. There are more lawsuits, more declines in public education, and more sexual issues at the forefront of the news. Why does everything around us seem to be spinning out of control? Is this “progress”? Are American traditional values passe’ now? Let’s look into this issue.
America’s Cultural War: The Battle for Values
Have you also noticed the word “evil” being associated with open actions in the culture lately? Media commentators have suggested that we are in a battle between good and evil.
The definitions of good and evil are self-evident. We are born with a conscience. However, today there is evidence all around us that many people call evil “good” and good “evil.” Actions traditionally considered shameful are now openly performed under the guise of freedom of speech. Murderers who may have mental psychoses are applauded if they murder someone you don’t like, and these examples make the confusion plain.
Communism in American Society: Hidden Influences in Today’s Culture
What if all the examples of sexual deviance, now defined as “freedom,” are really an attempt to lead children away from parents and the natural barriers given to us by the Creator? What if this is a cultural takedown, to be eventually replaced by a new form of government that grants unlimited authority to a few humans? These examples point to the same concern.
More young Americans are beginning to see government as the key to the “good life”—translation: money and free stuff. Hard work and rugged individualism have been taught as keys to the “good life” for over 200 years of our country’s existence. We cannot have a free country without them. It takes hard work and rugged individualism to protect our God-given, natural, unalienable rights.
Preserving American Values: How Citizens Can Shape the Nation’s Future
Americans who believe in the America our Founders gave us via our founding documents must maintain eternal vigilance over our country. It’s not just the land we live on; it’s our traditional values, too. We need to teach the next generation the values of courage, hard work, rugged individualism, respect, and more, since schools, by and large, do not.
More than that, we need to model in our daily lives what we believe. How we believe is how we will behave. If we believe our lives are in the government’s hands alone, we will be depressed, despondent, and looking for relief in drugs, sex, and illegal “thrills.” If we believe that freedom means doing whatever we feel like doing, we will exploit people and things. However, if we treasure our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we will cultivate patriotism (love of country) as well as discipline with money and time. We will examine our personal values from time to time.
It’s up to us to keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are the ones who will nurture America’s soul.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. 🇺🇸
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