Despite the downward moral spiral of our culture, some have aggressively addressed the need for change. Comedian Bill Cosby spoke out against the lack of responsibility in the black community in his 2004 address at the NAACP commemoration of Brown vs. Board of Education. You can read a portion of the text here. He was right to a degree. No matter the color of one’s skin, each of us has to take responsibility for our own actions.
However, moral depravity is not limited to those with darker skin. I overheard a news report about the recent MTV awards. From what I heard, Britney Spears was given a standing ovation for her work in the entertainment world. Most everyone should be aware that Britney Spears is not someone trying to have a positive contribution to the morality of our country. And yet a good portion of our country enjoys her provocative presentations enough to give her a standing ovation?
Yesterday afternoon, Diane Rheam interviewed actress Carrie Fisher. Fisher is best known for her role as Princess Leia in the 1977 film Star Wars. Now some 31 years later, she is performing a monologue about mental illness called “Wishful Drinking.” The portion of the interview I heard was very sad. Fisher told about her father’s immoral lifestyle, her struggle with bi-polar disorder, and her addiction to drugs. Hearing her story was painful for me to hear. And sadly, I never heard Diane Rheam point her to the answers she needed.
The point I am trying to make is that our culture has been spiraling downward for more than just a few years. In every generation we can point to those who have been a negative impact on their communities. But if the negative influences are so prevalent, where are the positive ones? We as Christians have found the answers to our world’s problems and yet we are quietly holding them until the opportunity arises. Do we really believe the truths found in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21? The truth is clear. Without Jesus there really is no hope. More education, conservative leaders, and stricter laws may do some good, but until the heart and minds of Americans are changed by God’s Holy Spirit, no lasting change will take place.
So, the next time you hear someone complaining about the problems in today’s society, why not present the Answer? He is the only real hope for today’s needs.
I’m not disagreeing with you, but I think we tend to romanticize the past (our past) when we think back upon it. I think this is true of every generation, but more so with ours only because we’ve become so open and talk openly about what used to be reserved for behind closed doors.
I understand what you are saying, Yonah. It’s easy to look at the past and say there was less sinful behavior when it was just covered up back then. For instance, women like Britney Spears are nothing new.
But at the same time, the Scriptures do reveal the tendency for nations to spiral downward. Think of Israel’s history in the book of Judges. They followed God’s ways for a generation after Joshua died, but by the end of the book (several hundred years) they were all doing whatever they thought was best (in a bad way).
That’s the way I look at the USA. As a whole, we have rejected the biblical principles that once governed our thinking as a whole. That hasn’t happened over night. It’s been a slow process but ever so slowly our society has rejected biblical morality. And now we can see the poor results all around us.
I still believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for America. Without him we will continue on the downward spiral of life without God.