Guest Commentary

During my childhood, our household lacked central heating and air conditioning. Instead, we relied on box fans, water coolers and pot belly stoves as standard methods for climate control. 

I remember touching the stove and yelling “owee, ow.” My dad looked at my fingers and determined the burn was not serious and said this is “why I told you not to touch the stove.”  Of course, my mother had a different reaction -- when she heard me yell from another room, she came running and hugged me. She brought that miracle tested Aloe Vera ointment to put on my fingers. I realized later how important my dad’s discipline and mother’s love meant to a family life which is becoming fictional and almost nonexistent today. 

Memories shape our identity; they are all part of what makes us who we are. Reflecting on America’s past reminds us of values that influenced our lives. As we look at where we came from it makes looking forward even more dangerous. 

Providing appropriate discipline for children is important for their wellbeing. It equips them with essential skills for managing relationships, overcoming challenges, understanding the significance of family, respectful behavior, collaborating with others and maintaining self-respect. Our bible reinforces this teaching in Proverbs 29:15; “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” 

We have been divided by years of polarization of race, gender confusion, sexual orientation, WOKE ideologies, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, child sacrifices, feminism, where the sexes have changed positions in the family which is destroying our families as well as our liberties. Our children are growing up without discipline and love, which is the foundation of our existence.  

“The proof is in the pudding,” refers to judging the results and actions of the decaying and destruction of the      family on America’s existence. Pew Research Center published a report that in “1970, 67% of Americans ages 25 to 49 were living with their spouse and one or more children younger than 18, while that percentage has dropped to 37% today.” Our children are being raised by means outside of the biblical family. 

We have turned into a society that seems to have lost our values: morality, discipline, compassion for others, respect for the rule of law and self-control. We have pushed God out of America and reaping the benefits. America is in grave danger of losing the freedoms we experienced in past times. 

As we look to the future we see threats to our liberty on many fronts. We are worried about moral values, the state of our public schools, the soundness of our economic system, health care, national debt and national security. While these and other issues might benefit from government action, We the People are losing confidence in our government and future.   

We are losing our sense of history, forgetting our faith and watching our future freedom slip away. The outlook ahead seems more threatening than what I recall from the past. 

The root of America’s problems lies in our heart and willingness in accepting the Bible as God’s word and living by its principles. When we base our lives on faith, we open ourselves to God’s guidance, which supports us in overcoming life’s challenges as King Solomon’s wisdom illustrates in Proverbs 3:5-6. 

America needs to return to the principles and values of the past to secure our position in the future. Strong family structure, love-based discipline, emphasizing morality and driven by faith in God’s word, to restore stability and identity in the face of modern challenges. 

Keep freedom alive!