History shows that even strong governments can collapse when their leaders abandon the core values and principles that hold society together and guide how people treat one another. Core principles such as morals, justice, equality, respect, family, community, and belief in God significantly influenced our social norms and policies in America.
What we see in America today, on the nightly news and across social media, is not just troubling; it reflects a steady erosion of the values that once grounded our society, as if we are watching an increasingly immoral Hollywood script come to life. More and more of raw brutality, illicit sex, and escalating hatred resulting in violence is being put in our minds. We have become desensitized to the point that we do not blush anymore; we do not turn away from violent scenes like we used to. Our children are being exposed to sexual immorality at a younger and younger age affecting their behavior.
Violence is celebrated and condoned in ways that a few years ago would never be allowed. A massive portion of the population is of the opinion that violence can be justified in pursuing the objectives of their political party. We have seen assassination attempts on our President, insurance CEO shot in the back, arson attacks on automobile dealers, mass shooting at schools, burning cities in protest, rape and killing the innocent by terrorist gangs are being justified. The individual responsible for the crime is receiving treatment typically reserved for victims. There are concerns about the integrity of our society.
Parents have a responsibility to support and guide their children. Without proper guidance, children may be more likely to make poor decisions. When we push God out of our families, our children sometimes become a burden instead of a blessing, they may rely on external sources to instill essential principles and values in their children.
A parent’s fundamental responsibility towards their children is to educate them about the distinction between right and wrong. Children are inherently naive and innocent, often lacking the ability to comprehend the complexities and norms of the world. We must be careful not to use school and education interchangeable. True education is the development of children’s relationship with God which involves spirituality, emotional, and expression of love.
We are seeing where many parents think they are too busy or unqualified to raise their children and give up their responsibilities to someone else to do the things they are incapable of doing. This retreat from responsibility invites others such as government sponsor programs to meet their needs. The government is not parents, they are controllers and will change society to meet their needs not God’s needs. This is where reality is perverted, good becomes evil and evil becomes good.
The present of evil is everywhere and most do not understand how we got here. Intelligent, educated, rational people with families and children, on their own wake up and ask, “How did this happen?” Most people do not choose evil; they mistake it for happiness. As we broke from our fundamental principles, morals, and values of our founding we changed our system little by little, which robbed us of our empathy, humanity, and capacity to feel and understand God’s leadership and importance.
We have become hollow instruments of another’s will, stripped of independent thought and blind to the darkness within us. Trapped by belief and ideology, we march forward without seeing the consequences our actions leave behind. We have become like the frog in boiling water being slowly boiled alive because we failed to recognize the threats to our society.
How did this happen? The question that is most important for America’s survival is, “What are we going to do to correct How did this happen?”
Jim Coonrod is a retired marine and active gardener. He lives in Collinsville.