That might be covered in Dutch's #3.
And I certainly agree that abortion is certainly a symptom of what ails this country, not a cause.
What does it take to value life, particularly a life that is completely defenseless? A certain ethos borne of strong compassion and sense of right versus wrong. A desire to protect that which cannot protect itself. A sense of community, of getting involved, of being of assistance to others where and when needed.
We have lost much of this. Behaviors that were once unthinkable (faggots getting married during a parade; NAMBLA; same-sex "marriages") are now calmly accepted by much -- thankfully not all -- of our country. In our rush to become more "Europeanized" we trounce all over what used to be called "traditional American values" that are now called "racist," "regressive," and even "evil."
No, I firmly believe that the Progressive movement of the early part of the last century and the evils that emanated from it caused a long, slow, slippery slide down into a shadow of what this country used to stand for.
And finds difficulty in standing for it again.
This is what our country accepts these days. And it's a ****ing tragedy.
I see things this way, the first sign of the decline of America is when divorce got to me something more than a last ditch option. There was a certain level of shame when someone got a divorce but when that societal response was phased out it became the solution of choice for many.
Next was the two events that happened to coincide but took place during the removal of the inhibition on divorce. The events were the hippy movement of free love, the acceptability of adultery and Johnson's 'Great Society' which established he welfare system.
All of this came to a head in the 70s and 80s where Dads were being replaced with a welfare check and families could be put together and then torn apart with ease. Add to this mix the acceptability of drug use that also carried over from the sixties and became more acceptable to larger numbers of people. The seventies also brought us radical feminism which encouraged women to work rather than nurture a family and to emulate the promiscuity of much of the male culture.
On a side note, I find it interesting that radical feminism's response to the male dominated culture that they abhorred was to get women to embrace the aggressive behavior they were labeling as the cause of all of societies woes.
Now we move in to the 90s and the new millennium where we see the final assault on America's Christian values and the end game on the annihilation of the family. The concept of marriage is redefined and deconstructed. Gender roles are questioned and the boundaries between what common-sense and irrationality are blurred. Individual wants and desires completely trump what is good for society overall. Our politicians lie to our faces and suffer no repercussions. Our leaders feel free to spy on our every activity and legislate against any behavior they decide is harmful to their authority. Decisions are made not on what is good for society but what will allow those in power to stay in power or what will allow those who desire power to obtain it.
Keep in mind that our children today see all this and I have to wonder what does it teach them? They watch our leaders and cultural icons flaunt the laws and ethics of society with no consequences and then they wonder why they get thrown in jail for doing what they have observed? Why do our leaders want retribution from Richard Snowden but do nothing when Barak Obama, James Clapper and Eric Holden lie right in the face of the people they are suppose to serve?
We have become a nation at war with itself. We have ethical standards that are enforced inconsistently and set moral standards so low as to be no standards at all. As a nation we have abandoned God because His standards were too high for us and embraced the idea that the best standards are no standards at all. Doesn't bode to well for our future does it?
