A LAND CALLED AMERICA - PART 7

[Wayne Leeper]

It’s difficult to assign a date or a single event as being the beginning of the decline of American values. While some claim it can be traced back to New Deal socialist policies enacted as an unsuccessful means of fighting the Great Depression, others point to the 60’s and the vast changes which began taking place at that time.

There is no doubt, however, that in the 60’s America began losing her great moral compass. The values upon which a great Christian nation had been built were eroded, little by little. As a result the great protective hand of God, upon whose values the nation had been built, was slowly removed. As Ameri­cans turned to secular rather that godly values a great change came over our land. It did not all come at once; but little by little the moral fabric of our society was gradually eroded.

One of the first steps was the case of (Murray v. Curlett, 1963). Madalyn Murray O’Hair, a militant left wing atheist with close ties to the American Communist Party, was targeting school prayer when she filed a lawsuit against the school board of Baltimore. The local court judge, dismissed the petition stating, “It is abundantly clear that petitioners’ real objective is to drive every concept of religion out of the public school system.” The case went to the Maryland Court of Appeals, and the court ruled, “Neither the First nor the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to stifle all rapport between religion and government.” The case then made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 17, 1963 the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of abolishing prayer and Bible read­ing in public schools.

A second event which had a great bearing on the morality of the United States was the U.S. involvement in the Vietnamese civil war which escalated in 1965. 58,159 U.S. soldiers died in the next eight years, before the no-win war was ended in 1973. However, that number pales beside the countless millions whose lives have been destroyed as a result. When the troops re­turned home, numbers of them brought with them an addiction to opium and marijuana.

Besides returning troops, the counter-culture of the 1960’s became strongly involved in the use of drugs. The beginnings of the counter-culture were root­ed in objection to the Vietnam War. Before long, illegal drugs had invaded every aspect of our society. Billions of dollars have not stemmed the tide and today over two thirds of people in jails and prisons are there as a direct or indirect result of illegal drugs.

Another event in the sixties which alienated one group of Americans from another was forced integration. The segregation of American society between white and black was not only bad, it was opposed to everything America stood for. However, the heavy-handed way in which the problem was addressed by the federal government, only served to further alienate the two components of our society. There were extremists on both sides of the issue. Most Ameri­cans didn’t object to the concept of an integrated society but there was strong objection to having it forced upon us by government mandate. Leaders on both sides of the issue stirred up as much heated emotion as possible and as a result it divides our society in many ways, even today. In the sixties civil unrest and violent protest became common place. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963. Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 and on June 5, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy, John Kennedy’s brother, was assassinated. By the end of the decade, drugs, the counter-culture, and civil disobedience had become entrenched in America as a way of life.

Another divisive event took place on January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court, in a 7 to 2 majority, ruled that a woman had the constitutional right to abort her unborn child. In the next thirty-five years over fifty million babies were killed prior to being born. This outraged the religious community and further divided the nation.

In addition, illegal aliens begin crossing our southern border by the millions. No real effort was put into stopping this influx of people, not wanting to become a part of the “melting pot,” but to retain their own customs and language. This not only flooded the job market, it also put a huge burden on our schools as well as our social system. America has always been a nation of immigrants, these new illegal arrivals had no intention of being assimilated into the American culture. Currently a bill is working its way through Congress which will grant amnesty to these illegals, making them citizens and eligible for all benefits including the right to vote.

A final event taking place in the 60’s had the potential to not only dam­age, but even destroy America as we know it. A philosophy of government, known as “socialism,” found its way into the classrooms of our universities. It began with some professors who soon began to influence large numbers of students. Adopted by the radical left, it found acceptance among the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Socialism advocates governmental own­ership and administration of the means of production as well as the allocation of resources. Most socialists believe capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society. It further teaches that capital­ism does not provide equal opportunities for everyone, and does not utilize technology and resources to their maximum potential for the public interest. Socialism stands in direct opposition to the America model of independent self-reliance. Under socialism, responsibility is shifted from the individual to the state, which in turn determines how the wealth is to be distributed among citizens. Socialism destroys initiative and freedom.

This was the picture of America when Ronald Reagan became our 40th presi­dent on January 20, 1981. Reagan was the last of the great American presi­dents. Having campaigned on the theme, “Morning in America,” Reagan was elected in a landside over incumbent Jimmy Carter, one of the worse presidents America has known.

Reagan’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention set the tone of his administration and of America for years to come.

“…The time is now, my fellow Americans, to recapture our des­tiny, to take it into our own hands. But, to do this will take many of us, working together. I ask you tonight to volunteer your help in this cause so we can carry our message throughout the land.

…I have thought of something that is not part of my speech and I’m worried over whether I should do it.

Can we doubt that only a Divine Providence placed this land, this island of freedom, here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breathe freely: Jews and Christians enduring persecution behind the Iron Curtain, the boat people of Southeast Asia, of Cuba and Haiti, the victims of drought and famine in Africa, the freedom fighters of Afghanistan and our own country­men held in savage captivity. I’ll confess that I’ve been a little afraid to suggest what I’m going to suggest -- I’m more afraid not to -- that we begin our crusade joined together in a moment of silent prayer. [Silence] God bless America.”

For a brief period under the, leadership of Ronald Reagan, America redis­covered her roots. The growth of big government was slowed, while the high taxes which had been imposed by previous administrations were reduced. Patriotism again became popular. Four years later Ronald Reagan was re­elected in the largest electoral landslide since George Washington. During the Reagan years our nation prospered and the torch of liberty burned brightly. In the final lines of his farewell address to the nation Ronald Reagan summed up the results of “The Reagan Revolution.”

“And that’s about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the ‘shining city upon a hill.’ The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in har­mony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with com­merce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurling through the darkness, toward home.

We’ve done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan Revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger; we made the city freer; and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad -- not bad at all.

And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

To be continued…..

This is the seventh of several installments. It comes from a pamphlet entitled “Once Upon a Time There was A Land Called America.” The entire pamphlet can be read at www.alandcalledamerica.com.