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Sept 5, 2003 These are difficult days around the world. It is a time for responsible Americans who love their country to assess and reassess the state of things as they are. As we do so, we may reflect on the glorious past and the accomplishments of America as it has led the way these last two hundred years. It has led the way in a mostly dignified manner. A manner that is just and fair, in as much as people are disposed to be just and fair. This, of all its achievements, is its most outstanding. It has not been a perfect road, but certainly a road of never- ending progress toward justice and prosperity for all. We should be careful though how we acknowledge these accomplishments. They may not be entirely as a result of any of our own human, intrinsic virtues. The United States has the oldest living democracy on the face of the earth. The founding fathers created a form of government that could harness the ambitions of men and women, while providing for the appropriate checks to that ambition. These checks have allowed the genius and ambition of men and women to create wealth, prosperity, and opportunity for generations of Americans of all classes, and for generations of many peoples around the world as democracy, and free markets have spread. We have also seen however, the results of unchecked ambition and unrivaled rule. In our day, it has taken the form of Sadaam Hussein and others like him. It is no small wonder that the United States, a land of vast natural resources and the progeny of the most ambitious, and talented people from across the oceans, has evolved into the only remaining super power on the earth. It has evolved in this way by the fateful combination of many serendipitous factors, not the least of which are natural resources and labor, the free- market allocation of these resources, democratic government, and the blessings of God. While all of these factors are yet in place it is imperative that we as Americans labor to maintain them. The fight for freedom around the world is a worthy cause. The promotion of democracy, in an age where tyrants and terrorists can reek devastation through the use of weapons of mass destruction, is of primary concern. The continued efficient use of resources is also of great importance. There is one requirement however that surpasses them all. It is this final requirement that I fear may have finally been lost on so many. It is the requirement of maintaining the blessings of God. As our young are dying on the battlefield in Iraq, it is sad to imagine that they may be dying so their peers back in America are free to engage in the immoral dissipation of Spring Break in Cancun. One could have experienced the full force of this idea last Spring simply by watching the tragedy of war on a cable news channel as they depicted the names and the faces of the fallen in Iraq, and then flipping the channel to watch MTVs depiction of the Spring Break tradition. For me it was the grossest of dichotomies. This is only one small example of the disappointing behavior that has become acceptable as the exercise of freedom by the majority in America. The founding fathers never intended to promote freedom without the constraints of biblical morality. It is mournful to consider that freedom fighters throughout all of our glorious history suffered and died so that some of the offspring of those same heroes might live in arrogance, greed, decadence, and selfish pride. Many of us have become people with no inclination toward active gratitude for the sacrifices of others, and the blessings and patience of God. These realizations, at times, leave me with a hollow feeling, and a disillusionment of the ideals of freedom I grew up with. I dont want anyone to fight for the right to live an immoral life. I dont want one soldier to die for anyones right to arrogantly ignore the morals and standards of decent society. There has to be something worthier of the blood of our young. There has to be something worthier of the pride of being an American. While there can never be any moral basis for the acts of terrorists, one might consider that their reasoning and justification derives from their perceived immorality of western civilization. In the modern age, it is not imperceptible that one terrorist and one weapon can bring about the unimaginable horrors of untold devastation and suffering. With such a threat that will only grow with time, what real defense have we, if not to maintain the blessings of God? God can, and will, fight for a righteous nation. We have a choice, by the hand of God, to decide the fate of our nation, and quite possibly the world. It is our free choice to make, and in such perilous and difficult times, should not be made lightly. To make the right choices, above all else, is to love and preserve America. ------------ Email Charles Calandra: ccindc2004@yahoo.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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