It is obvious that the USA is on the brink of a serious decline or even deconstruction. If things don’t change, the America we know and love today will be much different in the next ten years. In regards to this article, the first few points serve as the primary cause for the other points. The following are fourteen reasons why America is on the brink.
1-Deteriorating National Core Values
With the vast increase of immigration, both legal and illegal, since the early 1960’s, America has not had enough breathing room to help our new neighbors assimilate into the American Western culture that made us prosperous. For the past six decades, there has been virtually no let up and less care regarding who and how many people from other nations can live here. That being said, the common core values of our nation that arose out of the framework of the Protestant Reformation have greatly dissipated. If one determines to make their home in this nation they should be more loyal to America than to their nation of origin. A nation can no longer be a nation if it has no real borders, no common history and no shared core values. While it is true that the USA is a nation of immigrants (my grandparents were also immigrants), its founders established America with a particular purpose and ethos, when these are compromised, so are the principles that made the USA great.
2-Deteriorating Judeo/Christian Values
From the biblically-based covenant made on the Mayflower in the early 17th century, to the revivals of the First Great Awakening that brought cohesion to the individual colonies, the founding documents of this nation were informed by a Judeo /Christian worldview. Furthermore, many of the laws of the original colonies and states were based on the moral and civic law of the Old Testament. America is primarily on the brink because as a nation we have moved away from this biblical ethos and have embraced a multi-cultural, polytheistic, humanistic ethos that lacks a firm footing for a sustainable prosperity. One of the most salient examples of this is when public schools moved away from teaching the biblical account of creationism in the early 1960’s and started indoctrinating students with a naturalistic explanation of origins, robbing millions of young people of their sense of a transcendent purpose. Furthermore, prayer was also taken out of public schools. From that point on, we can see how crime and decadence drastically began to increase in the schools .
3-Many churches are wimpy and inwardly focused
Sometime during the end of the 19th century, the church went from engaging the world to escaping the world and we lost our cultural influence. (Read my book, Ruling in the Gates, for more on this point) This occurred in spite of the fact that Jesus called His followers “the salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13-16). Many pastors are now afraid of taking a cultural stand on moral issues for fear of losing members. Now, the non-controversial, cool social issues to preach about include sex trafficking, social justice issues, safeguarding the environment, racism and world hunger, all important topics worthy of our time and effort. However, when it comes to speaking on the evils of abortion, Islamic terrorism, the case for traditional marriage, the negative consequences of transgender bathroom laws, religious freedom for Christian business owners and the like, many preachers refuse to go against the cultural flow. When the church hides its light under a bushel, the world is left in vast darkness.
4-The destruction of the nuclear family
With the advent of legal no fault divorce, increased welfare benefits for single moms, the vast acceleration of out-of-wedlock births, and the redefinition of marriage and family, the nuclear family is no longer viewed as the societal norm. This erosion of the traditional family has resulted in children having much less spiritual, economic, emotional and psychological stability than previous generations. The result is more poverty, less self-respect and a greater sense of hopelessness that can also fuel more suicides and self-destructive behavior.
5-The legalization of abortion
Legalized abortion (in 1973) eradicated the foundation for all basic human rights. When a nation legalizes child killing (the fact that the pre-birth baby is already a human is a scientific fact), it greatly diminishes the value of humanity and paves the way for more racism, euthanasia, barbaric violence and perpetuates a gratuitous culture that values pleasure and self-expression more than human dignity and responsibility.
6-Generational poverty and hopelessness
With the advent of the deterioration of the nuclear family came the increase of cycles of generational poverty and hopelessness among the youth. Before the welfare programs of the 1960’s African Americans had a much lower divorce rate, and the fact that black on black crime is an epidemic goes hand in hand with the fact that out of wedlock black births number rates are approximately 75 percent.
7-Drug Epidemic
Since the so-called Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the use of illegal drugs has greatly increased in this nation. What has been under the radar is the growing epidemic of heroin in more affluent white neighborhoods. Now, it is not only the so-called “hood” that is challenged with substance abuse. Affluent neighborhoods have some of the most serious substance abuse challenges in America.
8-The “selfie generation” versus the “greatest generation”
The millennial generation has a great many young people who are high achieving entrepreneurs; but they also have a great many known for their narcissism, aversion to authority, snubbing their nose at history, a consumerist mentality who desire instant gratification, an addiction to social media, and having things handed to them without merit. All of these are encapsulated by the term, “the selfie” generation. Unfortunately, millennials have been sucked into the consumerist pleasure seeking culture, advanced by the boomers, that permeates the nation. This may be the first time in our nation’s history that the future generation will not have a better quality of life than the present generation.
9-Lack of ethnic empathy
I deal with this point a lot in my article titled Five Things Absolutely Needed For Racial Reconciliation.
Newt Gingrich had a lot of guts (for a right-wing conservative) the other day when he said that white people don’t understand what it’s like to be black in America. Through the years, living in urban N.Y.C, many, if not most, of my closest friends and colleagues are people of color. This has aided me greatly in understanding and empathizing with the plight of black America, even if I don’t always agree with some radical fringe groups purporting to represent all African-Americans. Unless the majority white culture makes greater strides regarding empathy (not sympathy) towards their black neighbors, things will continue to get worse in America.
10-Liberal politicians pushing class warfare and entitlement
When far left liberal politicians like President Obama and others push class warfare along with their tainted view of social justice and law enforcement, it exacerbates black/white relations.
Under the present administration, black/white relations are worse then in recent memory. Black participation in the work force is slipping and black-on-black crime in cities such as Chicago is getting worse—so much for hope and change. Presently, politicians increase the national debt to expand mass entitlements that create an underclass who continually vote a certain way because of their dependence on the government.
I hope the next administration truly brings more hope and changes some of the present policies as well as diving into prison reform that enables ex-cons to reenter society (Read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander).
11-The mainstream media sound bites
Both liberals and conservative adherents are guilty of plugging into media that adheres to their political views. Consequently, many have a superficial understanding regarding public policy. We have masses of people led by group-think, which further erodes the stability and unity of our nation.
12-The red state/blue state divide
Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, we have seen the advent of “culture wars.” The resulting political divide has progressed to the point that our union is now categorized by red and blue states. Unfortunately, we are now the “divided states of America” which, if unchecked, may go beyond mere ideology and result in mass rioting, the proliferation of civilian militias and much more bloodshed.
13-Placating politicians
While many initially dive into politics to better serve their country, the system is so corrupt it often turns good people into power-hungry leaders whose only goal is to get re-elected. The result is political correctness that panders to the special interest groups who deliver the most votes and money. Politicians who spout platitudes are a dime a dozen; we need statesmen who will serve as prophets in the gates of power who will speak the truth irrespective of the political fallout or what the mainstream media thinks.
14-The Supreme Oligarchy
In the 20th century the Supreme Court (made up of nine unelected judges) became arguably the most influential branch of government. Instead of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government counterbalancing each other as decreed by the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court has been making up their own laws based on the ideology of their individual members instead of framing U.S. law based on the U.S. Constitution. What we have essentially in this nation is an oligarchy, in which a nation is ruled by a small group of leaders who are not subject to anyone else.
When the Supreme Court undercut the Constitution through the legalization of abortion and the redefinition of marriage, and upheld many of the unconstitutional tenets of Obamacare, it further eroded our nation’s fabric and accelerated our demise.
In closing, as you can see, the renewal of America is a complicated process but must begin with a return to biblical foundations which alone can anchor America and restore the “United States.” {eoa}
For understanding more of what we can do to restore our nation, purchase Joseph Mattera’s soon-to-be-released book, Understanding the Wineskin of the Kingdom.
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