Men and civilizations. . .die when their beliefs pass into doubt

Financial chaos, political rhetoric, blatant lies, outright disdain and prideful prejudice.  I cannot contain myself any longer.  At the risk of ticking off some folks, I am compelled to state my position.

Philip Lee Ralph spoke a great truth in The Story of Our Civilization:

When civilizations fail, it is always man who has failed – not in his body, not in his fundamental equipment and capacities, but in his will, spirit and mental habits. Men and civilizations live by their beliefs and die when their beliefs pass into doubt.

It has taken us but a few decades and a couple of generations to jettison into a culture where there are no absolute truths, no sense of right or wrong but total self-indulgence, where political correctness reigns supreme and greed is exalted, where religious beliefs are ridiculed to the ground and pummeled to death, where morals are deemed archaeic, and respect is merely the title of a once-popular song.

Shamelessly, the media basks in the thrill of “reporting” its version of our country’s impending financial ruin while holding its breath for the next tidbit of bile it can regurgitate – whether accurate or not – about our politicians, governmental leaders, and power brokers.  All the while, “concerned” citizens of the United States are incessantly blogging, texting, cell phoning, emailing, twittering, facebooking and you-tubing opinions to and at each other.  Opinions based on beliefs based on opinions based on, well, mere opinions.

Is our civilization failing? Read the comments on You Tube and other social networking sites where your fellow human beings take great pride in their ignorant vehemence and hatred for one another as they anonymously post their opinions based on, again, their opinions.

I am saddened by the sheer ignorance of the American people and their blind acceptance as truth anything they want to grab ahold of that suits the it’s-all-about-me perspective.  It would seem we are a bipolar culture – passionately opinionated to the point of bias, prejudice and even destruction or completely apathetic because our self-focus has little concern for much else.

Is our civilization failing? Our children no longer value education because our education system does not value our children.   (For that matter, neither do our children’s parents.)  We have become a nation of people who cannot read, spell, or speak our own language much less think intelligently.  Yet our educators are more than happy to give our children condoms so they can have “safe sex” on the school grounds during recess and lunch breaks -  while administrators shake their heads and shrug their shoulders because it is just too difficult to deal with parents who insist that educators “butt out of their kids’ business.”

In the name of freedom of speech, we put our children’s bodies, spirits and very lives at risk so that perverts can have “equal rights and freedoms” in this country, while a few brave organizations risk life and limb to free enslaved women and children around the world from the horrors of the sex trade.  We expose our children every day on television and in movies to what a few years ago was decried as pornography or outrageous violence and have the audacity to be shocked when kids come to school with weapons to kill their schoolmates.

Is our civilization failing?

I challenge you to study the great civilizations throughout recorded history, educate yourself about their cultures and belief systems, and total the number that exist yet today.  Then honestly answer that question.  If it is failing, we are doomed to the destiny of every other great civilization that allowed their very foundations to be destroyed by greed, narcissism, ignorance, apathy and beliefs based on popular opinion.

Unless . . .unless we recognize and acknowledge our failures, are willing to change, to stand up for and teach our children absolute truths, what is right and what is wrong, instill moral values, have genuine concern for our fellow man, and the willingness to sacrifice for one another instead of ripping each other to shreds.

So what do you think, have our beliefs passed into doubt to the place where our civilization will fail?  Only you and I can change it.