No Morals, No Freedom

Americans could use a little less freedom. No, I'm not saying we should abandon our right to participate in democratic processes, but to what extent, exactly, are we entitled personal freedoms? Washington and Jefferson lived in an era based on religion. Today, our society has shed most of its religious faith and jumped on the immoral bandwagon. When people live without answering to a higher power, the democratic system begins to crack. \nAs Calvin Coolidge once stated, "Our Government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberty, and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles, they cannot believe in our government." \nWe can trace many present-day societal ills to the cultural abandonment of morals. \nCertain behaviors not prohibited by our Constitution are destructive, and when abused, incite increased government intervention. Without a moral backbone, people will inevitably fall prey to foolish traps that trigger worse problems in the future. What seems a harmless entry into a fun pastime is oftentimes the open door to worse problems: corruption, perversion and depravity.\nPornography is perhaps the most destructive cultural element in our society today. It desensitizes people. It is addictive, misogynistic and leads to pedophilia and rape. \nMusic, magazines, television and movies thrive on sexual depiction. We are surrounded by industries that want to sell sex and are willing to degrade women and men, regardless of the broken homes that result. Instead of railing against the Catholic Church because some of its priests molested children, we should instead question the kind of media that prompted such behavior in the first place. Judith Levine's new book, "Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex," openly encourages pedophilia. Levine, along with child molesters and child porn users, should be chastised for spreading this filth.\nAnother widespread problem today is most working mothers abandon their children at daycares. These children grow up feeling too insignificant for their moms to care about. Studies have shown that children who are raised by daycare workers are more likely to exhibit violent behavior. Boy, what a lesson to teach your child. \n"The SUV and the nice house were more important than your emotional security, dear."\nFurthermore, although I refute that our Constitution allows mothers to kill their babies while they are in the womb, our government legally protects this "right". This is yet another example of abused freedom. Abortion is legalized murder, and when people become used to this concept, the result is increased murder. There are studies currently underway that analyze the high rate of abortionists who are also murderers of people out of the womb.\nToday, it is just not a popular thing for someone to say the emperor is naked, so to speak. Our professors continually infuse our minds with moral relativism. The truth remains, though, and some behaviors are wrong. Murder and addictive drug use are crimes. Why? Because they are morally wrong. \nAs dismaying as this predicament seems, we can have hope in the fact that we don't live in a democracy. That's right, we live in a republic. You know, "...to the republic for which it stands…" This means the majority does not rule -- no matter how demoralized the populace becomes.