One Moment Changes the World

One moment can change the world. Billions of human decisions are made every day across the globe. On the surface, most are innocuous or mundane, from changing a diaper to going to work. Sometimes they are history-altering, such as protests in the Ukraine or stock market crashes or rallies.

Sometimes unforeseen changes begins with a simple decision. St. Francis begins to rebuild an church one brick at a time...and a movement still vibrating begins. John Wycliffe begins translating the Bible into English and now billions can read the Scriptures in their own tongues. Bartolomeo de las Casas protests slavery and the long road to Emancipation begins. William Wilberforce stays in politics and fights for the end of slavery and scores of other causes for 50 years.

The challenges of the USA compel action, but voices of change are quickly drowned out in a sea of agitprop polemics. The current levels of hypocrisy and self-deception, short-term thinking and political manipulation are unprecedented in our history. It is not only the elites that are to blame. Millions of people are consciously or unconsciously capitulating to a fatalism of inaction. The gulf between professed principles and actual practices in widening daily. Consider:

• "Everyone" loves the concept of a balanced budget. But no one will even begin with small cuts in over bloated salaries.
• Immigration should be guided by law, but anyone supporting a modicum of regulation is a racist or xenophobe.
• Millions are looking for work, but unwilling to labor in fields or service jobs.
• Leaders decry the influence of lobbyists, then join their ranks as they depart "public service."
• Amoral anarchy is lamented as millions quietly engage in vicarious games and entertainment venues.
• Tobacco is social evil number one...but billions of tax dollars flow from its consumption and we are making a worse mistake with "medical" marijuana. 
• We advocate a healthy lifestyle, then pass out condoms to middle-school kids and offer "4th meal" fried food at midnight (to all the consumers of "medical marijuana.")

Lamenting these and other evils, from abortion to divorce, redefinitions of marriage and family, educational outcomes and government intrusions into religion is easy - changing minds, hearts and wills in not.

Cries for spiritual awakening are the best start...and may they grow in intensity and sincerity.

Calls for activism and voting are helpful.

Maybe there is one more step...or millions of steps...that can propel lasting change. Perhaps each of us can have one moment that changes the world.

Our one moment arrives unexpectedly. It is veiled in other apparently "normal" decisions. Our moment dawns as we decide each day to love God supremely, love our neighbors unselfishly through our work and demonstrate in deed and declaration the veracity of the first principles that make for a flourishing life and society. If millions of "ordinary" people embark on a devoted and disciplined pathway of reverence for God, respect for all people, rigorous self-examination and right practices in their private and public life, the world will change. 

Some may emerge as leaders, even historic figures. Others will be agents of change one relationship at a time. Instead of continual lamentation, let's ceaselessly labor for the common good. Instead of captivity to edutainment, let's learn the proven pathways that yield prosperity for future generations. Instead of immediate pleasure, let's infuse principles that allow the next generation to flourish.

One moment changes the world - it is our decision today.

Thank You, Rev. Graham.

Tonight I watched the final public message of Evangelist Billy Graham. It was powerful and profound in its simplicity, weaving film clips of his 60+ years of global ministry with contemporary testimonies and his current call to follow Christ.

Tears are flowing as I write this tribute. Tears of joy for the message of the Cross that once again comes alive: Jesus Christ died for our sins, sorrows and sufferings, reconciling us to God. His borrowed tomb is empty, for Christ is the Risen Lord, triumphant over death and now alive in every believer's heart through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tears of sadness as Billy Graham's voice fades from public hearing. Resonant, direct, kind, compelling, warm and prophetic - it is a voice that over two billion people have heard, with millions responding and following Christ. There will never be another like it.

Tears of intercession as I weep in internal exile for my beloved USA. How far we have fallen from the faith, hope and love that our founders and framers bequeathed to us! How far we have fallen from the stirring oratory of Martin Luther King as he offered a vision of "all God's children" coming together and living in mutual love and respect based on the content of their character instead of the color of their skin.

Tears of gratitude are flowing as well, for I believe that our next Awakening will not be in stadiums or focus on a handful of personalities. Our next revival will be in millions of homes and businesses, charities and schools, conversations and service opportunities as Christians share this same gospel message in deed and word with their neighbors.

Thank you, Billy Graham. Thank you for your integrity of life and intensity of love. Thank you for being faithful to Christ and your family. Thank you for serving countless leaders in public and private. Thank you for learning from your missteps and growing in wisdom as you kept reaching new cultures and generations with the Good News. Thank you for reminding us that there is room at the foot of the Cross and around the throne of God for all people, no matter what their background or sins.

Thank you, Billy Graham, for standing with people of all faiths during times of tragedy and triumph, yet never wavering in your conviction concerning the claims of Christ. Thank you for being a model of leadership, setting the highest standards of ethics for ministry. Thank you for loving excellent communications and education, investing your time in media and seminaries, colleges and conferences, footing the bills so millions can be equipped to serve. Thank you for the Lausanne Movement, connecting Christians around the world for the tasks of evangelization and transformation.

Thank you for unifying Christians through your events and conferences, conversations and service opportunities. All streams of the global Christianity owe you a great debt for your selfless efforts. Thank you for all your efforts toward racial justice, for integrating your services at the cost of friendships. Thank you for your moral absolutes and cultural sensitivities. You knew the difference between God's commands and the unnecessary legalisms of the religious.  Yes, George Beverly Shea always sang and a choir worshipped at your meetings, but your message was fresh, your guests were relevant and your use of media stellar.

And thank you, my Lord and Savior, for tears that soften my heart, cleanse my soul and water the  seeds of prayers.

Thank you, Billy Graham, for a life well-lived.

Awakening Dignity

Solving our intractable domestic and foreign policy crises will require much more that political compromise and diplomatic maneuvering. Our overextended federal systems and diminished influence abroad are signals of deeper issues. Conservatives press for reduced government and increased personal  responsibility. Liberal/Progressive voices argue for better distribution of wealth that creates a just society. Conservatives are troubled by social elites proffering new moral standards even as they advocate for more government involvement in family and personal life in all non-sexual arenas. Liberal/Progressive leaders focus on structural changes that will even the economic playing field and open doors for historical underclasses to improve their situations.

Both groups have valid concerns. Both are concerned about government intrusion - but intrusion for one is justice for the other. When conservatives protest public school curricula, they are deemed intolerant, impervious to the needs of kids and out of touch with 21st century realities. When liberals are criticized for wasteful public spending and a lack of accountability, their response is to demand more money and label opponents "extremists" or (gasp!) part of the Tea Party. When conservatives are critiqued for a lack of social concern, they often resort to "family values speak" without mentioning the brokenness of families and communities. In foreign affairs, conservatives argue for national self-interest and realpolitik while liberals argue for human rights (while strangely ignoring the persecution of millions of Christians by Islamic regimes).

The foundational answer that begins to solve these issues is a recovery of the dignity of the human person. "Dignity" has been usurped by some to agitate for non-traditional marriage and sexual practices as well as promote euthanasia. In this essay, dignity is not a political term, but as essential part of being human, a quality that affects how we see each person we encounter and view the billions that share our planet.

Our Founders and Framers understood that all government authority is derived from the consent of the governed. The Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights ensure that the dignity, liberty and integrity of the human person is the starting point for a just society and equitable government. Yes, they neglected female and non-white persons and we paid for such tragic oversight with a Civil War, Suffrage Movements and, at last, Civil Rights in the 1960s. It took us too long to live up to our ideals.

The dignity of each human being is not an invitation to narcissism or solipsism. We are social creatures, made for both personal and relational flourishing. Human dignity is axiomatic. It is the starting point for further reflection of political and social structures. The rule of law, vital for liberty and prosperity, rests upon people of conscience following such laws and seeing the greater good in their discipline.

Dignity rests upon our anthropology. If human beings are the products if impersonal and mechanistic forces, with chance and time accounting for all facets of our being, then morality, purpose, and social cohesion are mere by-products of our survival instincts. If, however, human beings are created in the image of God, distinct yet integrated with the rest of creation and designed for meaningful relationships and work, the possibilities for moral and social well-being increase. If our humanness includes transcendent notions of right and wrong, longings for reciprocal love and the need to fulfill a purpose in life, then the nature of governmental and other subsidiary agencies will reflect these values.

Human dignity begins with conception and ends with natural coronation at the end of life. The immortals we encounter each day may stifle conscience and pursue selfish ends, but they remain of infinite value. Human dignity implies responsibility for our decisions and accountability toward others as we make our way in the world. Such a robust anthropology commends honest discussion of maleness and femaleness, marriage and family, religious and social issues. As persons created by God, we have a design and a destiny, proclivities and personal gifts. We possess freewill and our decisions affect others. We are moral creatures, even if we debate the fine points of particular ethical choices.

Human dignity includes respect for how we are made. Male and female share equal humanness, but they are designed differently. When we reject this design, we are lessening our humanity. We live in a fallen, flawed world deeply affected by our rebellion against God and the Good. This said, we retain our awe of Creation and an amazing gift of conscience. We wrestle with internal and external pressures toward self-destruction and self-realization. We inherently long for love even while we sabotage relationships. We are angry when innocents are hurt and killed and we hope our peccadilloes escape notice. What a paradoxical lot we are!

Back to our domestic and foreign issues.

With human dignity grounded in Creation as our starting point, new avenues of wisdom are possible. We will be skeptical of any agency with too much authority. We will hold ourselves and our public officials accountable for their stewardship of resources that are the fruit of our productive labor. We will care about national interests and aggressively pursue improvements in human rights around the world. We will hold the Islamic world accountable for its dhimmitude of non-Muslims and oppression of women. We will call on the Palestinian Authority to renounce terrorism and acknowledge Israel as a legitimate nation. We will call on Israel to negotiate with integrity the creation of a new neighboring state. We can amend or transform health care legislation into a comprehensive strategy to care for all without destroying choice and private sector enterprise.

Human dignity means we end abortion on demand while helping foster adoptions, care for moms and kids and hold the fathers accountable for their sexual activity. There is no such thing a sex without consequences and erotic fulfillment is not a civil right. We must end all forms of active euthanasia while wisely learning how to let nature take her course at the end of life.

When we begin with dignity, we end in liberty, opportunity, responsibility and the potential for personal and social flourishing. If we reduce ourselves to the products of impersonal nature, then might will make right and we enslave ourselves to the basest impulses found in our flawed natures.

Conservative and liberal friends, let's start talking about what it means to be fully human and we may find new common ground.

Surreal Subversion

American and Western European histories are filled with moral and social conflict and political battles. For the past three centuries, the trajectory toward human liberty and economic opportunity has been positive, with serious battles against totalitarianism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Coalitions of Center, Left and Right in Europe and lots of "horse-trading" in the USA have ensured relative stability for millions of people.

This stability depends upon four critical factors: consensual personal and social morality, human liberty, economic opportunity and the rule of law. These elements are interdependent and indispensable for human flourishing.

Our very civilization, built on these foundations, is threatened by the ideologues in power in Washington, D.C. (And by extension, Sacramento, CA)

I am normally optimistic, looking for the best in people, even those I disagree with. What is happening right now is the culmination of a century of subversion inaugurated by Woodrow Wilson, accelerated (with often noble intent) by FDR, turbo-charged by LBJ's Great Society and mostly unopposed by even the Republicans designated as conservatives. The past five years, however, are fraught with exponential change that is subversive of the values enumerated above and enshrined in the Constitution.

I do not believe we can dismantle 100 years of structural change overnight...nor should we. What we must do is understand the times we live in and recognize the seriousness of our situation. All people of conscience, regardless of particular policy perspectives, must unite to stem the flood waters of self-destruction and turn the tide toward a preferred future.

Our current President and Administration are not content with adjustments that ease economic pain, build infrastructure and ensure opportunity. They are after forcible redistribution of wealth and the creation of a permanent working underclass that will vote for more largess from the federal trough. In addition to runaway spending, totalitarian control over health care and education and deliberate anarchy on immigration, they are undermining the four foundations mentioned above in the following ways:

The personal and social mores of hundreds of years are willfully discarded for "evolved" thinking of marriage and family, sexual license and special accommodation to Islamicists that despise everything the West stands for.

Human liberty - including freedom of conscience and worship, assembly and speech and redress to the government - is being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and incipient totalitarian control over families and individuals. When people of goodwill cannot comment on marriage and morality, critique another religion or worldview (except Christianity) and are told that their most cherished values are subservient to state interests, we no longer have a functioning Constitution.

Economic opportunity is threatened by a militaristic environmentalism rooted in debatable science, excessive regulation and utter disdain for entrepreneurship that does not spout the correct social cliches. It is interesting that class envy is used to increase government control while major corporate donors pay little in taxes and garner contracts with public money.

Finally, the rule of law. Or should we say, lawlessness. Everywhere the current party is in power, crime grows, economies decline and social unrest is at an all-time high. Any suggestion of smaller budget increases or greater efficiencies in social programs are greeted with howls that millions will starve. Immigration reform is a joke. Millions will be pardoned for breaking the law. Instead of deporting felons, enforcing borders and crafting pathways to citizenship that continue our grand values, we are opening the floodgates for cheap labor and cheap votes.

We have a small window of opportunity to change this pathway to oblivion. It will require moral courage, spiritual awakening and wisdom to meet the needs of many types of people. It will also require Congressional and Presidential leadership willing to debate civilly and seriously and forge policies that represent all Americans.

Surreal artists distort reality and provoke reactions with exaggerated forms. The people in power are doing the same with their histrionics and propaganda. Their refusal to debate, stubborness in the face of many concerns and fiat-wielding power speak for themselves. They have a distorted narrative, an exaggerated sense of their own superiority and utter disdain for all that are less "enlightened." It is time to compel them to get real jobs by voting in women and men of integrity that take the Constitution seriously.

A Great Reversal is Possible

Endless federal deficits. Porous borders and immigration chaos. Selective enforcement of oversight laws and regulations in the EPA and IRS. Health care for all that includes 2400+ exemptions, including government employees. A foreign policy without direction. Serious scandals dismissed as phony and a media that is rarely investigating those currently in power.

These and other problems are not five years in the making, though the current Administration has done little to resolve and much to exacerbate this state of affairs. Our current crises are a century in the making, beginning with some of the unintended consequences of the Roosevelt Administration in the first decade of the 1900s, continuing through the elitism of the Wilson years, accelerated by the policies of FDR and codified by LBJ's Great Society in the 1960s. Neither Democratic or Republican leaders have been able to reverse the trends that are presently carrying our American experiment toward oblivion.

The fundamental issue for over a century is the disempowerment of individuals and local government by the Leviathan of ever-increasing federal power. It is important to note that this essay is not a nostalgic foray into a mythical past. We need federal agencies for everything from protecting civil rights to decent food and a clean environment. The ethical and social oversight that ensures freedom and opportunity is a vital part of the original intention of the founders. What was never in their minds and must be altered in ours was the federal administration of so much public money! The corruption, bad stewardship and inefficiencies of federal power hinder the good intentions of most citizens that want compassion, safety and reasonable public services.

We must begin a reversal today and re-empower local and state governments and restore the dignity of personal virtue as the critical foundation for liberty. This will not happen overnight and will call upon every moral and spiritual resource we possess. We can begin by taking ownership of our decisions and votes and calling upon public servants to serve rather than be enriched at our expense. We must not allow collectivist or libertarian extremists or social elites to control the public conversations critical to our future.

We can reverse a century of malfeasance in less than a decade if we will find the courage to stop over-promising and under-delivering largess and call upon the better natures our citizens to contribute to the common good through their business and charitable enterprises. We must welcome people of all faiths (or none) into the civil-political discourse and stop pretending that religious values have no place in public life. Coercion of conscience has no place in a free society, but faith convictions are not restricted to the private sphere. Polite and robust debate is good for freedom and we must not permit one political party or religious tradition to impose their will and stifle dissent.

Wealth can be created while caring for the environment and compensating employees fairly. The tax code needs complete transformation - and some folks will need to find other employment. Military readiness and care for veterans are important priorities. Our policies must stop rewarding irresponsible behavior. Our management of the public purse needs an overhaul, releasing some local, state and federal workers to the private sector. Immigration policy requires courage and decriminalizing drugs is a social folly.

All these words are easy to write - and extremely hard to practice because our system discourages disrupting current norms that might displace voters. When enough citizens find courage and their elected officials discover integrity, we can reverse the tides and uncover new wellsprings of potential and prosperity.

A Time for Affirmations

Our world is drowning in the quicksand of polemics, negativity and perverted reasoning. Sometimes I wonder if I am in a bad dream or B-grade movie where the universe is sideways. Everything is inverted. Sound fiscal policies mean starving children. Calling for good work ethics is "code" for racism. Supporting traditional marriage is intolerance. Affirming limited government and sound immigration is right wing xenophobia. Criticizing Palestinian Holocaust deniers is apertheid and condemning Muslim terrorism is Islamophobia.

It is time for unapologetic affirmations of indisputable truths. Rather than labeling and libeling those that disagree with me, I choose affirmation over attack, life over death and faith over fear. Here are some affirmations that I pray will guide all people of conscience:

• Life is precious and sacred, from conception to coronation. Whether a boy or girl, healthy or infirm, challenged or gifted, all humans deserve a warm welcome, a kind farewell, and love in between. It is a baby inside the mother, not a piece of tissue. 
• Marriage is one man and one woman discovering depths of intimacy, heights of mutual purpose, experiences of sorrow and joy, and for many, the profound stewardship of raising the next generation. 
• Freedom of conscience and religion is the first freedom and foundational to all others. This does not make evangelism coercion or the truth claims of religion unimportant. It means living peaceably with our deepest differences and sharing convictions without fear. 
• Hospitality for all legal immigrants and secure borders are symbiotic and critical for national cohesion and diversity. 
• Israel is a moral and political good for the world. She is a beacon of sanity in a geography rife with political and religious turmoil. 
• Spending less than we take in and fostering economic productivity within the rule of law and an ethos of generosity will help the most people flourish. 
• Wealth can be created without destroying the environment. We do not have one pie for seven billion people - we can bake more pies! 
• It is the height of arrogance and overweening will-to-power to manipulate the populace with fear about global climate. Most of Rachael Carson's and Paul Ehrlich's predictions were (and are) wrong. Current climate "science" must be separated from globalist economics and politics.
• Our choices can add to the beauty around us, from works of art to words of wisdom, from life-saving medicines to laughter that heals the heart. 
• The colors and clothes, accents and dialects, food and music of our many cultures is cause for celebration as we discover our common humanity and diverse tastes. 
• Disagreeing with another person's choices is not judging their soul nor being intolerant. My neighbor is made in God's image and worthy of love and respect. Where we differ, we may argue passionately...then go to a PTA meeting and help our schools together.

St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt a church with his bare hands, rejoiced in his poverty, gained Papal approval, evangelized Muslims and could hear the songs of the trees and whispers in the wind. I do not share his monastic vocation, but I long to share his joy-filled humility and love for God and others. 

Jesus of Nazareth healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, forgave sinners and reconciled enemies. He also pricked the consciences of the comfortable, condemned the abuse of the powerful and refused to compromise on matters of morality. All progressives need to heed his words of judgment and all conservatives must awaken to his compassion. 

Today I choose affirmation because in the Incarnation, humble and sinless life, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, I discover my identity and worth, my destiny and discipline, and the  affirmations and affections that shape abundant life now and forever. 

Observations

Observations on a Friday:

The human condition is summed up well by watching preschool children play. One minute they are hugging, laughing and sharing...the next they are crying, pushing and refusing to share.

Federal government leaders are like dieters confronting a box of doughnuts. They know they should walk away after eating one and sharing the box, but they end up eating all of them. Restraint is not an easy virtue.

"Redefining" marriage and family does not change the empirical and intuitive truth that humans are conceived by one man and one woman and children are best served by their biological parents staying together.

Just when I am about to embrace pacifism fully, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban do or say something that awakens a sensibility that we need military force in a fallen world.

But when the noxious odor of crusading and militarism appears, I realize that I am first a citizen of God's kingdom and must love and pray for my enemies even as nations try to resist evil.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam see the world very differently, even as they share certain monotheistic and moral concepts. Civil discourse with love and respect is a must; pretending that "they worship the same deity" is intellectually and spiritually dishonest.

Academics are a funny lot sometimes. They love to rage against capitalism while teaching in buildings funded by people that were productive and employed others...and, gasp! - made a profit.

Why do so many environmentalists express deep concern for obscure animal species while allowing the elimination of unborn humans? Conversely, good ecology is good economics...if we care for creation, it will care for our posterity.

The local church can be the incubator of spiritual and social transformation. As people connect with God and each other, they become creative and productive and the world is better.

We cannot regulate all risk out of our lives.

Warm homemade bread and butter shared with people you love is profoundly gratifying.

Maturity, Please

Our current pop culture encourages permanent adolescence as prurient passions rule over consideration of others and thoughtful actions and words. Children are maturing physically sooner, yet staying immature longer, with many psychosocial experts affirming that the brain - especially of males - only reaches adulthood in the mid-20s. I only wish most in their 20s were adults!

This issue is not physiological development. Our founders did much of their greatest work in their 20s and 30s. The Greatest Generation that persevered through a Dust Bowl and D-Day matured in their teens - they had to work to survive and shed the decade of stupidity that characterizes our contemporary rites of passage.

Maturity includes physiology, but it is not limited by the body. Maturity - true adulthood - is marked by the growing triumph of principle over passion, reason over reaction, ethical choices over temptations and service to others over cheap self-gratification. Biblically, maturity is the Great Commandment (loving God supremely and others sacrificially) expressed by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the virtues of the divine life (II Peter 1:1-10).

Today's youth are far more capable than we think. The problem is their parents. Too many "adults" are acting like middle school students, exchanging gossip, struggling for acceptance through moral compromise and hoping for popularity at any cost. O wait! this sounds like Washington, D.C. and most media content! Legislative progress requires self-control, principled compromise and the ability to reign in emotion and honestly desire the best for others.

It is time for new icons of virtue. The reason we love Captain America is that he appeals to something beyond ourselves...and even Iron Man follows his lead and willingly serves the cause. We love WWII movies and documentaries because - if only for a moment - so many served at great cost. These fantasy and folk heroes are flawed, but their decisions are sound and point to the heart of maturity - looking beyond ourselves to the Almighty and the good of others.

How do we change our current psychosocial trajectory? One decision, one family, and one relationship at a time. Today let's open our Bible and turn off the computer. Mom and Dad, decide now that nothing will break your covenant...and if you have kids, your fidelity is the number one factor in their future. Let's encourage learning, reflection and service and discover the wonder that caring for others fills our own souls with delight.

And by the way, let's send a message to our city, state and federal public servants: We expect you to be adults and serve the common good. We are watching and we are voting.

The End of Civilization

As I teach church history to spiritual leaders in Singapore this week, my students are intrigued by the rise and fall of civilizations and institutions. Examining the stories of ancient, medieval and modern empires is instructive as we consider the future of the USA.

It is easy for melodrama to overtake sound reflection, as recent media circuses testify. From unwise comments about a narcissistic student to inflammatory cries about a tragic shooting, we are experts at outrage and comeuppance, but afraid to face our issues and find partnerships to solve them.

Civilizations collapse for many reasons, from environmental disasters (both human error and natural events) to invasion/deportation to internal anarchy leading to implosion and totalitarianism. Historians such as Arnold Toynbee have made valiant attempts to systematize the rising and falling of cultures and empires, with some success. Other thinkers, with less-than-hidden agendas, weave narratives of the past with that foster present activism.

In these paragraphs, I have a more modest aim. The end of the American experiment is immanent unless millions of thoughtful people act quickly and wisely to reverse the current trajectory. Here is why we are on the precipice:

* Moral and spiritual anarchy that is in practice and principle undermining social stability. When we argue about the human identity of babies, the nature of marriage and refuse to respect faith, we are in serious trouble.

* Immigration chaos that prevents solid folks from pursuing citizenship and fosters defiance for the law among those that have no desire to sustain our American ethos.

* Fiscal inanity that stifles creativity, increases dependency and furthers the erosion of markets that can ethically generate new wealth.

* A political process that rewards bluster and fabrication and alienates the thoughtful.

With God's help, "we the people" are the only way to a better future. The warfare-welfare state must yield to ethical enterprise, social responsibility and new neighborly concern. Voting is for citizens with ID. And reverence for the Almighty and respect for Life are paramount if we are going to enjoy Divine favor and foster justice.

Forging a Better Future

The global community is awakening from her slumber and discovering that the public troughs are empty. They are not just empty - they cannot be replenished without significant sacrifices. From The USA to Europe, austerity is the rule of the day. How we arrived at this point is well-known. All political parties and public officials, along with a variety of interest groups, from banks to unions, have created pathways and policies that now collide and place us on the edge of chaos. A fundamental lack of self-regulation created the conditions for over-regulation by government. All this manifests in bloated bureaucracies and outdated systems.

When people cease self-regulating, anarchy ensues, creating the conditions for hard or soft totalitarianism. In the USA we are at a tipping point of public dependence on public funds. In the midst of the Occupy Wall Street's shrill cries for fairness, we can forget that wealth must be created through (ethical) enterprise and that "government money" is actually our money that is poorly administrated.

Our crisis is much more than economic. The fact that so many people even give a thought to the sham marriage of a narcissistic celebrity while millions suffer privation and our public institutions of ethical cohesion implode is a sure sign that we must find a new way forward. We are in a moment of moral turpitude, spiritual vacuousness and social fragmentation. We know more about social network friends than our neighbors and we mistake soundbites for information and Internet rumors for insight.

What is our way forward? Are we doomed to further decline into nihilism followed by religious or secular totalitarianism? How can we push a "reset" button that will bring change that helps the global community as well as our nation? I offer these thoughts as a place to start.

First, let's decide that it is unacceptable for billions to live in abject poverty. The answer to global poverty is not more UN aid programs. The answer is unleashing the creative powers of entrepreneurship, establishing democratic processes, fostering religious freedom and extending generosity. From fair trade efforts to development initiatives that provide water, health care and education, we can see fundamental change. An Imam from Silicon Valley admitted that there was enough money in the global Muslim community for every member to be cared for, with much left over to show kindness to others! Americans of all faiths or none are a generous lot, but an increase of just five percent in resources for service to developing nations will transform the daily lives of millions. We can unite around a better future for the next generation.

Second, let's live up to our highest ideals instead of making excuses for immoral and unethical decisions. Personal integrity and caring more about the good of others will nurture our souls far more than private ecstasy or other forms of self-indulgence. This Christmas, let's make another family happy as well as our own. I am not suggesting we should deprive ourselves of fun; in fact, when we think of others, life is more delightful as we devise ways to work more efficiently, serve more effectively and play more inclusively.

Thirdly, let's demand that our elected officials privatize their pensions, live within their means, operate more efficiently and demonstrate accountability instead of accommodation to lobbyists. From our President down to City Hall, we can expect better...and we need to wake up and recognize that we voted for these folks! Democrats and Republicans, Greens and Libertarians all need to consider the long-term consequences of their actions.

Finally (at least for this essay), let's stop deceiving ourselves about the real situations we face. Radical Islam is a real threat to liberty and the enemies of Israel are also aiming for the USA. We cannot be a warfare and welfare state. Teachers cannot teach students who come to school poorly parented and unready to learn. If we are going to have children, we have to care for them. We must also end our current pathologies of abortion on demand and consider adoption if fertility issues arise. We need borders that are real and immigration laws that are fair. We need to end the current IRS and create a truly fair tax system. Even with religious tensions, it is still better to have complete freedom of conscience and faith and argue with civility than to erase public religious influence or impose a theocracy. We do want the highest values of faith to influence how people live. We must also defend the right of others to disagree and declare their opinions without fear.

We can forge a better future as we live out our faith, unleash creativity and local economies, refuse to give in to intolerance and choose hope instead of fear.