Many have noted that are our society is in decline. Many, including
President Obama, bristle at that notion, but an honest appraisal of the
situation would certainly demonstrate otherwise.
The survey of 2,000 American adults shows that the nation’s culture war
is grounded in disagreements over religious issues, such as God’s role
in life and whether religious belief is essential for a good and moral
life, CMI Director Robert H. Knight said.
About 31 percent of Americans, regardless of political stripe, are
“orthodox” — faithful Bible-believers who strive to live by “God’s
teachings and principles,” see “a clear set of right and wrong
behaviors” in every issue and believe government should be allowed to
follow religious principles.
Seventeen percent of Americans, again regardless of political
affiliation, are at the “progressive” end of the religious spectrum —
many believe in God, but they strongly disagree that religion is “the
most important factor” in forming their values or that religion is “the
most essential ingredient” of a good, moral life. Progressives don’t
want the government to follow religious principles and don’t believe
that people “should always live by God’s teachings and principles.”
The largest group of Americans — 46 percent who described themselves as
“independents” — do not fully identify with either of the other groups.
However, they tend to align with the orthodox regarding belief in God,
sexual morality and spiritual issues. They reject, for instance,
progressive efforts to replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” —
but side with progressives about using personal principles, not “God’s
teachings,” to make certain moral decisions.
The culture war, according to the CMI report, occurs because the
“morally absolutist” orthodox Americans are fighting to uphold values
such as honesty, personal responsibility, sexual restraint and
“classical character virtues.”
Progressives, with their secular views and “situational ethics,” collide
with the orthodox over some of these issues, and both groups work to
attract independents to their side, the report stated. This makes
independents the main battlefield in the culture war, it added.
Surprisingly, all three religious groups are likely to see the media as negative influences on America’s moral culture.
Separately, author and Hoover Institution fellow Dinesh D’Souza argues
in his new book, “The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its
Responsibility for 9/11,” that the “cultural left” in America is the
primary cause of Islamic anger toward America.
The cultural left, which includes members of both major political
parties and their allies in the press, academia and the nonprofit
sector, has “fostered a decadent American culture that angers and
repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world,
that are being overwhelmed with this culture,” Mr. D’Souza writes on his
Web site.
“What angers religious Muslims is not the American Constitution but the
scandalous sexual mores they see on American movies and television,” he
writes. “What disgusts them are not free elections but the sights of
hundreds of homosexuals kissing each other and taking marriage vows. The
person that horrifies them the most is not [free market philosopher]
John Locke but Hillary Clinton.”
One solution, Mr. D’Souza says, is for cultural conservatives to join
with Muslims and others in condemning the global moral degeneracy that
is produced by liberal values and work to halt the spread of such things
There was a time when every program that ended on TV was punctuated by the seal of good practice. This meant that there was uplifting and moral content in the programming. That disappeared decades ago. There is no longer any attempt to elevate the thinking of American society.
In fact, the media seems engaged in an attempt to neutralize morality and to impose "Hollywood Morality.” In Hollywood it is quite acceptable to swap wives and have multiple marriage partners and multiple sexual partners outside of marriage. Drug culture is glorified. Excessive spending is idolized by that group, while demonizing the same spending by the Wall Street crowd.
Unfortunately, the mainstream news media has joined in with the entertainment media to destroy the moral fiber of our nation. They are, however, doing it unwittingly, simply desiring to be popular and failing to realize the destructive nature of their folly.
It is not too late for reclaiming the tenets of faith and morality that propelled this nation to the pinnacle of success in record time. It is not too late, in fact, to be one nation under God. Unfortunately, unless we have appropriate leadership, this will not occur and we will continue the inexorable decline that has characterized every other pinnacle nation before us.Many have noted that are our society is in decline. Many, including President Obama, bristle at that notion, but an honest appraisal of the situation would certainly demonstrate otherwise.
There was a time when every program that ended on TV was punctuated by the seal of good practice. This meant that there was uplifting and moral content in the programming. That disappeared decades ago. There is no longer any attempt to elevate the thinking of American society.
In fact, the media seems engaged in an attempt to neutralize morality and to impose "Hollywood Morality.” In Hollywood it is quite acceptable to swap wives and have multiple marriage partners and multiple sexual partners outside of marriage. Drug culture is glorified. Excessive spending is idolized by that group, while demonizing the same spending by the Wall Street crowd.
It is not too late for reclaiming the tenets of faith and morality that propelled this nation to the pinnacle of success in record time. It is not too late, in fact, to be one nation under God. Unfortunately, unless we have appropriate leadership, this will not occur and we will continue the inexorable decline that has characterized every other pinnacle nation before us.
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