Consequences of Changing American Values - Granite Grok

Consequences of Changing American Values

a statement of need, a definition of the problem, and who they are solving it for

The preamble to our Constitution concludes with the words “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” This is the way the people who wrote our Constitution envision its purpose. A blessing is what is good in the eyes of God. It is a good whose possession properly belongs only to those who deserve it. The American founders saw the nation’s existence, its faith, and its posterity as a package deal. It all went together.

The polling data

The Wall Street Journal/NBC News have released a poll. It appears under the headline “Americans Have Shifted Dramatically on What Values Matter Most.” Here are some of the results: Patriotism, religion and having children rate lower among younger generations than they did two decades ago. 61% cited patriotism as very important to them which is down 9% from 1998. 50% citied religion as very important, which is down 12%. 43% placed a high value on having children which is down 16% from 1998. Among those ages 18-38, 42% cited patriotism as “very important”. Less than one-third cited having children as very important. 30% cited religion, belief in God as very important.

Questions

Today our next generation, our future, dismisses the importance of all the elements of that package. What does this tell us about where we’re headed? Let’s stop for a minute and consider: Does this country have a future? Can there be posterity, without children? Will there be children if there is no marriage, no family? Will there be marriage and family if there is no religion and God? We hear a lot about of the issues of drugs and crime but those things spring from hopelessness. Without faith, without belief can there be hope? It is a serious question with ramifications.

More statisitcs

We love our statistics. Recent statistics are pretty gloomy on the answers to these questions. Think about this: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the lowest birth U.S. rate in 32 years last year. It was the fourth consecutive year with a decline in the U.S. birth rate. The fertility rate, births per 1,000 adult women, has been dropping every year. It is well below the replacement rate, the rate a population requires to keep from shrinking. Over the last 50 years, the percentage of U.S. adults who are married has dropped 31%. Pew Research Center, reports in 1960 72% of adults in the U.S. were married. By 2016 this was down to 50%.

The decline in the percentage of Americans saying religion is “very important” in their life is identical to the decline in the percentage of married Americans. In 1960, 70% said religion was “very important,” and by 2018, this was down to 50%, a 20% decline. Americans report continuing to feel free; 87%, according to Gallup, are satisfied they can freely live as they choose. A minority now sees this liberty as a blessing, in the sense the word is used in our Constitution.

Reasoning through it

As the sense of the importance of faith and religion diminishes, the values and behaviors that go with them, marriage and children, also diminish. There are important practical implications on our posterity. Fewer children means an aging population. More retirees per worker means more pressure on the payroll tax. Each payroll tax dollar must cover the needs of more and more retirees.

The population over the age of 55 accounts for more than half our health care expenditures. As the percentage of the population over 55 increases, our health care expenditure burden will increase proportionately. With the collapse of family, more elderly Americans will be living alone.

Conclusion

Do you think this picture is gloomy? The good news is we’re still free. Because we are free we can change course. Nothing is inevitable unless you have given up and are already too much of a victim to act. We need different public discourse. Policies consistent with seeing liberty as a “blessing,” need to be advanced. For this to happen, the starting point must be seeing a need to change the status quo. Do you see a need to change the status quo?

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