One of the things that makes me scratch my head in amazement and concern is that we as a people have no concept of history and especially US Government history. We as the American People spend our hours watching mindless TV and are missing out on all kinds of fantastic books that are filled with so many lessons learned in blood over hundreds and thousands of historical years that we have deliberately ignored. It sounds great except for that small fact that we are a government of the people and for the people. If the people be clueless, then our outlook is not so bright...
One other thing that concerns me very much more than that though is that we are so quick to support things and people who have very obvious ethical issues with the excuse of "oh, a person's personal values don't matter in government". I would strongly argue the exact opposite is true and this very thing is the primary reason that we are in this difficult position today and the much worse position coming in the future. If values and integrity are important in average life, how much more in the public square and government?
That raises the question: do we really believe that integrity is important in one's personal life? I would argue that in the general public the answer is a resounding "no". It is no surprise therefore that we have no integrity in government if it is a value no longer treasured and fought for in the average American's life. How quick we are to blame "Washington" for our troubles when I submit that it is a problem rooted in our society in general with the symptoms coming to a head in DC.
Do we really think that we are immune from the problems that led to the downfall of all the other great empires throughout history? Do we really think that we are technologically advanced enough to prevent that?
Here is a great speech by Dr. Os Guinness on the current issues faced in our country at the latest Socrates in the City. Please watch and ponder what he has to say.
Dr. Os Guinness: "A Free People's Suicide" from Socrates in the City on Vimeo.
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