Former President Clinton counsels that the USA needs to "slow down our economy to save the planet."
Arab leaders and the Mad Mullahs of Iran are breathing murderous threats against Israel, in spite of Israel's continual concessions of land for peace.
Democratic Presidential candidates proclaim that they can solve all the intractable domestic and international issues through revivalistic sloganeering and appeals to "change."
A well-respected professor is denied tenure for suggesting that the Universe may be intelligently designed instead of randomly arranged.
Conservatives are urged to "forget" the Reagan era, change their heart-felt convictions and gleefully back an "inevitable" nominee.
The latest federal budget over more than $3 trillion dollars still manages to have a 12% deficit. Anyone advocating spending restraint is "starving the children."
"Family" is being redefined, one state at a time - even though no civilization in history has ever defined marriage and family in other than traditional terms.
Democrats and Republicans look the other way on immigration, NAFTA superhighways and economic competition from Europe and Asia.
Personal character - especially marital and sexual fidelity - is labelled "irrelevant" if a leader has "competence" and "vision."
Freedom is now defined as almost unrestrained personal behavior - any objections are seen as "judgmental."
What has happened?
When did morality, truth, virtue and practical work stop being important?
Why is the federal government the answer to local problems?
When did infidelity and immorality become "just private behavior"?
When did we forget that government money is our money?
What we are watching is national self-destruction, one foolish accommodation at a time.
The erosion of truth and virtue is no longer gradual and imperceptible. It is now a torrent of fatalistic nihilism that will open the door to global totalitarianism unless thoughtful and virtue-loving people intervene.
How do we start? Three steps begin the long journey home to personal and national sanity and stability:
First, each of us must take personal responsibility for our lives and hear the call of conscience to add good to the world every day.
Second, we must affirm that their is real good and real evil in the world. A man recently confronted my condemnation of terrorism with the notion, "Well, we have to understand why some people are terrorists." It sounds so good until we realize that the terrorist leaders threatening our nation and Israel are not just members of the impoverished "Arab Street" but well-educated, well-financed radicals with a thirst for blood and a callous willingness to send the naive to their deaths. This is evil, pure and simple.
Third, we must reaffirm the principles of our Founders - limited government and maximum personal virtue; common moral norms and freedom of religion and the importance of local and state governments to be prudent and wise.
Our reckless moral and political behavior is saying to the extremists - religious zealots and secular elites alike - "Please destroy our freedom - all we ask is that your do it in HD and that we each can play video games while a civilization collapses."
It is time to fight - not with IED's, but integrity. We fight with reason and urgency, not fear and threats.
A better future is ours to create - one wise decision at a time.
