For an oldster like me, the current inner-city violence and destruction is only the next stage of an agenda that was underway even before my male-gender birth. Certain past highlights now stand out as former unnoticed signals yet have planted the formational seeds for today’s hateful attitudes and cultural cleansing.
One such event needs to be used as a comparative then versus now lesson. This was JFK’s memorable 1961 Inaugural Address in which he stated: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” This preceded his equally famous, “And so my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
WOW, sacrifice, God Bless America, and Mom’s apple pie flow throughout. However, this national pledge has grown some “maybes” and “what ifs,” which, in hindsight, were preparatory signs of today’s dysfunctional state.
Some who were elected have been impatient and have juiced up this agenda, yet it’s still the same dysfunctional cloud, regardless of its rate of speed. Past moments captured various officials, including Presidents, stating that the most solemn duty of the Oval Office is “having to send men off to war.” Given this acknowledgment, coupled with our Constitutional mandate for declaring war prior to that “most solemn duty,” past actions were either a general dysfunctional act(s) or were inherently criminal!
I fully accept that with today’s super sensitive atmosphere, neither term is welcomed, but being offended is not illegal and sometimes necessary. Since this topic involves many tens of thousands of lives, being offended is the least of our concerns, as it should be when the law is hanging in the balance.
This slice of American waywardness is but one example. It seems that policies are instituted until other priorities arise. This was perfectly clear when our support for a “friend” and our “oppose any foe” devotion faded from the pledge.
JFK’s “liberty” has now been recalculated to beachfront resorts on the China Sea, along with doing commerce with communist regimes. It just might be that the word “dysfunctional” is, in fact, too soft!
Concern should be directed to the government’s continuing dereliction of duty since it remains appropriate with today’s quagmires, all of which were fomented gradually as test cases at their intervening level of importance. Also, this issue of war, centering around the needless loss of American lives, ceased to be important when today’s volunteer military lessened both public interest and debate.
However, closer to home, this is not the case with today’s latest and highly publicized dysfunction. Supposedly, the dearest and most precious possession that brings us meaning with its joy and nurturing is the birth of our children. This is natural, desired, and, above all, a societal requirement. But not so today! Without getting into the dysfunctional corridors of selecting one’s gender, let’s just say again the word dysfunctional doesn’t do it justice.
I’ll wrap up this un-Godly nonsense by pointing to the current crop of dysfunctional parents who themselves have, in many cases, been similarly influenced in their youth through their own wayward rearing. As previously stated, for too long, all of this comes and goes quietly as “Joe Q Public” goes about his or her daily functions. This “let it be” attitude has become fundamental, one which, in all likelihood, was that communist singer’s intent. Nevertheless, it serves to weaken America’s resolve for all that is worth tackling.
Today, the tougher the chore, the less likely it’ll be addressed. Modern man and woman now choose to “let it be!” Our country wasn’t founded, nor did she gain freedom with easy tasks. Those Americans were proud, determined, and hardy. They made friends with the difficult since chopping wood determined warmth and dinner.
In contrast, our modern conveniences have brought an unhealthy degree of ease into our living. Such luxury often produces boredom, which in turn usually breeds either discontent, jealousy, immorality, hatred, or violence. What is missing is the inner peace and contentment derived from one’s pursuits of a purposeful, challenging, and fulfilling life, all while being guided by his or her faith.
