by Jack Lee
Do you think the United States is in decline? Certainly our economy is in decline and it has been for a number years. But, what about our society, does an economic decline go hand in glove with a moral decline? A look back in history proves a firm code of conduct that a nation’s culture values is key to it’s success. Conversely, a weak cultural and moral identity is often a nation’s greatest enemy because it leads to total collapse.
Statistically, the United States currently imprisons more of it’s citizens than any other nation on earth, not counting of course, those political prisoners in China. Even to be in the top ten for prisoner countries should be cause for concern, but to be number one? That is a huge red flag something is seriously wrong within our society.
Our foes are quick to paint us as violent, unscrupulous and decadent, with little or no regard for our friends and neighbors, much less our enemies. From the old Cold War Communist rhetoric that still lingers in the minds of leftists to the rantings from irrational Islamic fanatics, America has suffered from an unrelenting war of words and sometimes… real war. We’re viewed as this powerful, evil empire that must be conquered at all costs and let’s face it, some of their best rhetoric was founded in truth. We haven’t always deferred to morality when it came to protecting national interests. But, it can be reasonably argued that the rest of the world has no room to talk! Show me a perfectly virtuous nation? However, the rest of them aren’t in the cross hairs -.we are. That’s another reason to be prudent and responsible in all out dealings.
Unfortunately, we have too many scandals caused by crooks in Congress and crooks on Wall Street. The headlines are filled with the latest inhumanity of what one human being is willing to do to another human being. The tabloids tattle on the excesses and perversions of Hollywood. And you know how it works on the world stage… one awshite moment wipes out a dozen attaboys. Our current ledger is heavily weighted in the awshite column. It makes me wonder, where’s it all going, where’s this country going to be in another 50 years?
I feel like I’m living in the “fall of Rome” times, and some days I’m sure of it.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet and philosopher, said, “As there is much best and some devil in man, so is there some angel and some God in man. The beast and the devil may be conquered but in this life never destroyed.” He believed it was necessary for our survival that the angel and God in us should be strengthened by acts of respect, humility and goodness in order to hold the ‘beast and devil’ in check.
If you listen to the modern poets and lyricists found frequently in our rap music and movies you might conclude they’re not just tempting the beast and devil, they’re advocates for them.
Rap music that is the most popular with youth is often the most violent and embodies a rejection of traditional moral values for the sake of being free and independent. But, freedom and independence unchecked is a fool’s game. Ironically, its our liberal avant-garde, especially in academia, that have a penchant for challenging and attacking traditional [Christian] values that founded this nation and contributed heavily to defining our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They embrace a European style of social democracy and look at the current chaos in Europe.
Normative and traditional American cultural values have been colliding with the beast that takes shape so frequently under the context of instant gratification. Too many Americans depend on credit cards and look at how our government abuses credit! They have racked up a monstrous debt that we must eventually pay. This debt is a huge part of what is stalling the recovery from our greatest recession and now threatens us with a new recession. So yes, there is a blatant nexus between our values, our national character, and our economic health.
It’s frequently said, “A man of character is he who commands the respect and admiration of all.” Does our country command the respect and admiration of all, … most, uh….a simple majority then? No? Reality check: We don’t even want to think about how few good friends we have, do we? Our “friends”, other than England, are mainly derived from how much money we give them or what we can do for them…remove that and see how many friends we have left.
Valtair says, “Every man, as to character, is the creature of the age in which he lives.” And if that is true, then our best defense against the problems and encroachments affecting our society’s well being is to trust in our traditional cultural values that have stood the test of time. However, if you dilute our culture with an invasion of contrary and competing ideas found in isolated subcultures (multiculturalism) you dilute our national identity and our chances of overcoming these ills and we mover ever closer to the abyss. This is why it’s so important now, more than at any other time in our history, that we teach the value of [good character] and how important it is to have a cultural identity, with one unifying language and shared idealism. Diversity by itself has never made us strong, it was always diversity united behind our unique cultural values and high ideals.
We need the world to see us as the sum of these decent qualities reflected in our actions that will distinguish us and earn us respect. We must be that nation because our future success depends on our resolve to have a fair and finely tempered will, where freedom and individuality doesn’t mean anarchy.
“It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery.” Demosthenes
I want to close by quoting the definition of good character from Michael Josephson’s book, Character Counts.
Trustworthiness
Be honest Don’t deceive, cheat, or steal Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do Have the courage to do the right thing Build a good reputation Be loyal — stand by your family, friends, and country
Respect
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule Be tolerant and accepting of differences Use good manners, not bad language Be considerate of the feelings of others Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements
Responsibility
Do what you are supposed to do Plan ahead Persevere: keep on trying! Always do your best Use self-control Be self-disciplined Think before you act — consider the consequences Be accountable for your words, actions, and attitudes Set a good example for others
Fairness
Play by the rules Take turns and share Be open-minded; listen to others Don’t take advantage of others Don’t blame others carelessly Treat all people fairly
Caring
Be kind Be compassionate and show you care Express gratitude Forgive others Help people in need
Citizenship
Do your share to make your school and community better Cooperate Get involved in community affairs Stay informed; vote Be a good neighbor Obey laws and rules Respect authority Protect the environment Volunteer
There it is folks, our road map to success and it’s the only practical way to get of this path of self destruction that our current political and pop-cultural leaders seem so determined for us to follow. Its time to rebel and champion something worthwhile for a change. Remember change won’t happen until we MAKE it happen.
PS If I could only have on article that we’ve ever printed here, one that I really believe in, I think this is it.
Voltaire had it wrong. Some things are ageless and worth keeping no matter what the age.
The Scout Oath
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
The Scout Law
A Scout is:
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful,
Friendly, Courteous, Kind,
Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty,
Brave, Clean, Reverent
That is good advice for living. The Big Ten are another. Some may think such guidelines quaint.
“The United States currently imprisons more of it’s (sic) citizens than any other nation on earth.”
I’ve seen that statistic too, but it is misleading, if not outright untrue. China and other totalitarian countries have hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in “re-education” camps and similar types of involuntary detention that they do not count as prisoners. Neither do they count all the ones dead and buried by the hundreds in shallow ditches.
Even if we deferred to China as the leader in this area of prisoner detention, that still leaves us way too high. The sheer costs of prison housing are debilitating, not to mention the toll society pays for being victimized. We can do better.
Ah, but that’s just it Quentin, I’ve never left those values.. This has always been my position. It’s big government, faux multiculturalism as defined by the far left, and the slide toward socialism that has those values under siege. I’m just trying to hang on to them before they are ripped out of my hands.
The last time I checked there was no Merit Badge for half baked, lunatic hate speech, (snip),
Quentin what am I repeating that is so wrong?
Here’s where I am coming from and feel free to call me on whatever you feel is untrue or goes against your grain:
First and foremost, I am all for fiscal responsibility in government. That goes along with a strong desire for a fair, open and honest government.
I want government to be in line with the Constitution in all that they do and according to the Bill of Rights.
I like smaller, more efficient government that is responsive to the people it serves.
I don’t like a government that wants to force too much “help” on me, to the point they are taking away too much of my paycheck. When government controls our every day lives the control more than was every intended – I don’t want that. It’s not why this country was founded IMHO.
It’s my belief the 2nd amendment allowed every citizen to own a firearm, unless disqualified by virtue of a criminal act or insanity. Other than machine guns, they (gov) really have no business telling us what make or model firearm we wish to own, that is a restraint of trade and it infringes on the Constitution.
I don’t believe in affirmative action – but I do believe in giving everyone equal opportunity to jobs and education. Race should have NO bearing on hiring or admission to a college or lowering the bar. I think aptitude and a GPA should be considered. Overall, we should be a color blind society.
Thats about all I care to invest my time in. I will let other people fight the other battles. These are enough for me.
I know you and the democratic party hate the Tea party organization, and that’s a free choice so I accept it. I think you should be supportive of them, but its your choice.
The Tea Party I know and have known since it’s inception is not racist and their not crazy. I never heard a racist view said once and I don’t think will, because I know the people that attend wouldn’t appreciate it.
The group I know is only concerned about fair and honest fiscal policies and its open to anyone from any party who shares their views. We don’t talk abortion, we don’t talk civil rights, we don’t talk about anything that is not directly focused on economic issues.
I can swear to this on a Bible and I would gladly take a lie detector test. too. To me this group is fine, very patriotic and level headed. You’re free to glean information on it from internet sources that say differently, I am only telling you what I know for a fact from direct personal experience.
I don’t pretend to be a mind reader and if someone harbors racists feelings or belonged to the KKK 40 years ago and now they are in the tea party I dunno, I have no idea I only know what I have seen, but I have no reason to lie about it.
It is my belief the Qretin Colgan’s opinion of the TEA party stems from a deep and pernicious mental disorder that completely disconnects him from reality. His hatred is real, his mental disorder is real, but his view of the world is the ugly and distorted result of his disease.
Colgan’s notion that Jack Lee is doing everything he can to destroy the very values he holds dear is, of course, utter lunacy.
It appears that Colgan is not far from complete self destruction. His disease of hatred and violence completely consumes him. He has no control, it controls him.
Jack,
Quentin can’t answer your questions directly because it’s not the truth he’s after. His M.O. is to try and sow confusion and discontent amongst conservatives, which gives aid and comfort to his liberal masters. You cannot debate positions with someone who will never honestly tell you where he stands, doing so is as pointless as most of his posts. Every response we post to him only fuels the fire of his mad efforts. In reality, he is unworthy of your time.
Berkeley College Republicans bake sale raises a stink.
http://www.dailycal.org/2011/09/26/uc-berkeley-bake-sale-controversy/
Summary:
Selling baked goods at a price break for certain groups is baaaaaaaaad.
Admission preferences for certain groups is gooooooood.
Pie, I almost wrote an article on this subject. It’s a great story and I appreciate you giving us the link.
Do not despair, the Millenials are coming to the rescue. The Pew Research Institute been studying the citizens born between ’92 and ’02, and these other guys wrote a book they were touting today on the News Hour.
Except … you won’t like the part about diversity, and you won’t like the part about church (they are not observant), and they all approve of working toward goals through organizations (like the Social Security Administration), and they’re all Democrats.
But is that really cause to despair?
Today the 27Th, TWO days after Jack asked Q if he, ‘Q’ would like to respond to Jacks values of America’s common good, or even challenge those that Q just disagrees with. NOTHING YET, just silence, avoidance from the puppet of Pelosi and kind
However, let Steve make a clear statement to Jack about Q’s intentions and his divisive and pointless absurdity’s and Q is all over it in hours. When Q replies only to Steve, and in the 3rd person no less, and he doesn’t even address Steve’s comments but uses typical Liberal strategy and attempts to change direction and pull people away from a open discussion he can not win, other than in his own mind, which I feel is a ‘5 by 10’ plot of organic waste matter gone up in the very smoke that fuels so many of his ilk.
But of course thats just an opinion gleaned from reading so many of his non sense ramblings of late
“You cannot debate positions with someone who will never honestly tell you where he stands, ….”
Well, maybe you crossed posts, but didn’t he just?
Q: “Is he the comedian who went down there because he knew you would try to have him arrested and he could mock you when you did?”
How clever or brilliant do you have to be to provoke a confrontation so you can jump back and scream foul? Answer…possibly sixth grade level clever.
I think most people see through your silly attempts to be clever. I think most people, after observing your comments for a time, can see the guarded way you respond and realize you never, or rarely, have anything to say that would put your own butt on the line. You refuse to risk preferring the attack as if that somehow gives you the advantage.
You don’t think Jack’s values, and the values of the Tea Party, are smart or preferrable. Saying so once is sufficient for any of us to get your position. A more valuable comment would be one that disputes a particular TP position with arguments to support your own position.
Why do we never hear that type of argument from the supposedly clever Quentin Colgan?