Taking a quote from Democratic 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards, one can say that “Two Americas” does actually exist. But unlike what Edwards continues to push, money is not the dividing enemy—it is morals. But the Democrats won’t say that, because it takes too much wind from their sails.
Edwards still says that America is divided economically. In a free market system, there will always be the haves, and the have-nots. By your ideas and willingness to work, you can make or break yourself. In a system that is built from entrepreneurship, one’s existence is based on his/her abilities. Eighty percent of all American millionaires have gotten there on their own. They have not married, nor been born into their wealth.
But the separation that currently exists is almost exclusive to morals. It seems to define thoughts, actions, and unfortunately your political party. All the recent presidential elections have been so close, that in a recent election the schism was only decided by an electoral vote majority.
Even the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan(D) stated that the moral division in America was “defining deviancy down” because “when society tolerates deviance, it propagates deviance.” Moynihan specifically mentioned single motherhood, which used to be taboo, but reached a rate at which we decided to recognize it as normal and legitimate. Ben Shapiro(syndicated columnist) said “When that happened, it skyrocketed.” Now, 40% of children born in the US are born out of wedlock.
It seems the rise in homosexuality, single motherhood, pornography, and abortion has been dramatic. As Shapiro said, “Common sense used to tell us these things were bad, but common sense is dying.” Unfortunately, most social liberals don’t pretend to know right from wrong, or even to care. They simply claim to have a right to act as they please as long as nobody else gets physically harmed. This seems to define ‘phantom right’ perfectly.
On the other hand, most conservatives grasp that rights are granted to us by our Creator, to enhance human existence. But now, we’ve got one party fiercely dedicated to the most radical stances on abortion, homosexual activism, and their own interpretation of marriage. Even worse, they don’t seem to understand the interrelationship between the social and economic issues. This party seems to have most of the mainstream media in their corner. They typically define issues in a way that makes the opposition seem mean, inflexible, and even evil.
We need to focus on and discuss moral issues, even during the ongoing struggle against terrorism(Robert Knight/ Director-Culture and Media Institute/ parent organization of Cybercast News). In an incredible juxtaposition, one realizes that the radical part of Islam is willing to sacrifice his life, and others, to douse the hedonistic activities espoused by the side of America that allows much of this immorality to exist(Dinesh DiSouza/TownHall). But astoundingly, the conservative side is what stops the radical Islam part from succeeding, while the liberal side of America wants to stop the war against terrorism and allow radical Islam free hand.
America, the strongest nation in the world to date, looks to be headed for a sure meltdown. The country that has allowed the most freedom to its citizens will have to face a much divided electorate because of the freedoms allowed. The saving grace may be the 50% of America that doesn’t vote. But that is surely no guarantee against total anarchy.
The sides have already been drawn. The issues have been decided. The real question is which side will go outside of the law to get what they want, if it’s not obtained by normal means. Unfortunately, that is likely already known.
Kevin Roeten can be reached at roetenks@charter.net or kevin@kevinroeten.us.