Longing For America To Get Back To The Basics

This will be a series that I want to try out in addition to more mundane topics. Before commenting on specifics by category over the next several months I wanted to express my frustration with our country's direction and state my objectives vis a vis this topic within my blog.

I feel we're losing our way in terms of the kind of successful and healthy society that our founding fathers intended. It seems to me that we've strayed from building on the foundation they layed and are, instead, not just tweaking a so-called 'living constitution' but being pressed by well-meaning minority forces to build an entirely different foundation. I think the potential consequences or risks beg we explore what we're doing rather than just accept it.

I'm quite certain our founding fathers would be saddened by the hate, divisiveness, intolerance (including intolerance in the name of tolerance), and deteriorating integrity, honesty, principles, values and morals. They'd be dismayed by spineless political leadership that serves special interests and political correctness at the expense of citizen representation/protection and true constitution-supporting objectives.

Some of the issues that concern me (more depth on each in future blogs):

o Greed and selfishness. Anything seems to be justifiable as long as we're not the ones hurt, no one is looking and/or we don't think we'll be caught. How our choices/decisions affect others is irrelevant.

o Dishonesty.

o Materialism.

o Expecting someone else to bail us out of trouble, even when we get there through our own foolishness or bad judgement.

o Self-indulgence; no boundaries (by others or ourselves). We see no reason to deny ourselves, much less accept limits from others.

o Increasing immorality ... related to self-indulgence. Immorality is spreading; we're losing our moral compass. For example, sex is becoming a recreational activity.

o Spending well beyond our means and getting deep into debt.

o We don't feel responsible for debt we got ourselves into. In fact, leading debt-reduction companies say you "have a right to" have your debt restructured so you don't have to pay back what you borrowed. Bailing out on one's obligations is no big deal any more.

o We feel we have a right to avoidance of and protection from failure and bad consequences.

o Personal integrity, ethics and strong principles are becoming old-fashioned and irrelevant. Getting ahead rules. 'My word is my bond' used to be the rule and stood for something. Now, one's promise doesn't seem to mean much either to the person making the promise or to whom the promise is being made.

o Short-term thinking that ignores or sacrifices long-term benefit/good. We seem to be largely incapable of doing what's in our long-term best interest on an individual or any other level.

o Personal responsibility, self-discipline and accountability are to be avoided, not embraced. We even teach our kids this approach to life. Sad.

o Decline in public institutions' service to citizens. The education decline is especially troublesome.

o Doing what's right is less our default thought/action. Whatever happened to the principle of hard work to get ahead or doing the right thing simply because it's the right thing ... for a greater good ... first? Who or what should define what 'the right thing' is anyway? Why not be people of principle whose promise is trustworthy and word is bond?

o Duty, honor and patriotism are considered out of vogue, old-fashioned. Maybe irrelevant? Definitely not the path to being cool.

o Respect that derives from fear or intimidation rather than being gained by earning it.