On
the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States of America are two
quotations in Latin, which translated mean: “He has favored our
undertaking” and “New order of the ages.” That our country’s founding
was undertaken by men and women with trust in the Almighty is well
documented from original sources. As we survey the history of our
country from its early 17th-century colonial founding, we can indeed
find many reasons to be grateful for this land, our people, our
institutions, and the American way of life. That the United States of
America can in truth be called “the new order of the ages,” or even “a
new order of the ages,” suggests a kind of millennialism or Messianic
consciousness which can scarcely be deemed reasonable, but rather
displays overly enthusiastic expectations for this country during the
period of the Revolution and our constitutional Founding.
From the perspective of the 21st century--if not long before--a human being moved more by reason than by excessive passions would have to marvel at what happened to our founding experiment, to the country that most citizens of our country still love. What we experience daily is far less a “new order of the ages” than another heavily disordered body politic whose fate is not at all assured. How long the United States of America will survive in the course of history, before it goes “the way of all flesh,” no one knows. But one experiences daily strong and disturbing symptoms of disorder, of decay, of what surely feels like the passing away of this country--or at least of its historical way of life, of “justice under law.”
There is, it seems
to me, a great chasm in the political consciousness and heart of every
American born several decades or more ago--say, born and raised before
the Viet-Nam debacle. We love our country and feel considerable
patriotic pride; and yet, especially in moments of sober honesty, we
recognize and feel in our whole being that this country is spiritually,
morally, and politically sick. The “New Order” is experienced on a
daily basis as disorder. And the sickness, the disorder, is seen in
many citizens, in our political and civil rulers, often in our own
families, perhaps in ourselves. If we are willing to face reality, each
of us can list a number of disturbing symptoms, signs of deep
corruption at every level. And facing the truth of reality, we can echo
the sentiments of Thomas Jefferson when he said, “I tremble for my
country when I reflect that God is just....”
America is paying the price for her corrosive spiritual negligences. Unfortunately, those who bear the most burden are the young. With minds often corrupted and damaged--but surely not properly developed--by broken or wounded families and by a poor and often perverse educational system, our young are all-too-often rudderless, uncontrolled and uncontrollable, adrift in a seemingly meaningless life of destructive music, mindless mass media, alcohol and drug abuse, lack of good economic opportunities, a vast spiritual wasteland that is breeding anxiety, depression, narcissism, egomania, violent behavior, suicide.
America is losing its soul. As a people in history, we have turned away from the one source of true order in human lives: God. Wanting what we want, when we want it, regardless of the consequences, we have shrunk ourselves down to such a level that even our “great ones” appear to be very small indeed to anyone with eyes to see. Political, educational, cultural, business elites should inspire our people to strive for excellence, to cultivate virtuous lives, to sacrifice selfish ambitions for the common good. Instead, what we see is a virtual free-for-all for power and wealth among “elites” who are often about as uncontrolled and uncontrollable as many of our youth. It is not the most noble and virtuous who rise to the top in America, but generally the more unscrupulous, the deceived and deceiving, the most power-driven.
Forty years ago, the Russian writer and prophet Alexander Solzhenitsyn warned our country that we were spiritually sick and dying. Rather than listen to him, our educated elites chose to ignore him, or to vilify him, and to continue deceiving us. We must consider again Solzhenitsyn’s basic truth: That a people in history who have rejected God will break apart and perish, regardless of how we raise our wine glasses and flash fake smiles. My hope is that the undertaker is not yet at the door, and that a genuine spiritual and intellectual renewal is possible. But before undergoing renewal, we must at least acknowledge the spiritual, intellectual, and moral wasteland that we have become. Unfortunately, recognizing this truth is least likely by those who hold the reins of power and mass manipulation in this country.
America is paying the price for her corrosive spiritual negligences. Unfortunately, those who bear the most burden are the young. With minds often corrupted and damaged--but surely not properly developed--by broken or wounded families and by a poor and often perverse educational system, our young are all-too-often rudderless, uncontrolled and uncontrollable, adrift in a seemingly meaningless life of destructive music, mindless mass media, alcohol and drug abuse, lack of good economic opportunities, a vast spiritual wasteland that is breeding anxiety, depression, narcissism, egomania, violent behavior, suicide.
America is losing its soul. As a people in history, we have turned away from the one source of true order in human lives: God. Wanting what we want, when we want it, regardless of the consequences, we have shrunk ourselves down to such a level that even our “great ones” appear to be very small indeed to anyone with eyes to see. Political, educational, cultural, business elites should inspire our people to strive for excellence, to cultivate virtuous lives, to sacrifice selfish ambitions for the common good. Instead, what we see is a virtual free-for-all for power and wealth among “elites” who are often about as uncontrolled and uncontrollable as many of our youth. It is not the most noble and virtuous who rise to the top in America, but generally the more unscrupulous, the deceived and deceiving, the most power-driven.
Forty years ago, the Russian writer and prophet Alexander Solzhenitsyn warned our country that we were spiritually sick and dying. Rather than listen to him, our educated elites chose to ignore him, or to vilify him, and to continue deceiving us. We must consider again Solzhenitsyn’s basic truth: That a people in history who have rejected God will break apart and perish, regardless of how we raise our wine glasses and flash fake smiles. My hope is that the undertaker is not yet at the door, and that a genuine spiritual and intellectual renewal is possible. But before undergoing renewal, we must at least acknowledge the spiritual, intellectual, and moral wasteland that we have become. Unfortunately, recognizing this truth is least likely by those who hold the reins of power and mass manipulation in this country.
