> Until a generation ago, America was known as a Christian nation. But
> in the last 35-40 years we have experienced moral and spiritual
> disintegration unparalleled, which has resulted in moral and
> institutional collapse. Unless God's people act quickly following the
> principles of II Chronicles 7:14, in a few years, the America we know
> today - one nation under God - may cease to exist.
>
Many leftists may think this is simple foolishness, or even paranoia, but consider how the solid verities of a couple of decades ago actually have changed. Look past the nervous silliness in these words to the reality behind them --
> the right position on every issue whether
> it was voluntary prayer in public schools, the defense of unborn
> life, the homosexual agenda, the Panama Canal treaties, the Soviet
> Union, the National Endowment for the Arts, the United Nations,
> national defense, Israel, Castro's Cuba, Red China, and the list goes
> on and on.
>
Sure, god's position on the Panama Canal is ridiculous, but the end of the cold war, the changes in normative gender rôles and much else in the culture really have changed a lot, even as conservatives have won great numbers of electoral victories. This makes it even more frustrating for them, since their victories seem hollow when they can't even prevent what they perceive, more or less correctly, as the advance of new configurations of family life, the "homosexual agenda," and much else. Poll results, and events like the publics strong support of President Clinton in the scandals, are slaps in the face for the right.
Consider also, that this happens with almost no coherent leadership from the left, certainly not from groups like DSA which avoids any cultural politics. What is happening, of course, is that there have been a generation of fundamental changes in the developmental experience of people growing up in diverse family structures, with resulting changes in the culturally formed ego, and super-ego. What the Fallwells of the world perceive as
> conservative
> values, the Judeo-Christian ethic and the ideals of our Founding
> Fathers
>
is real. So too "moral and spiritual disintegration" and ,"moral and institutional collapse" phrases which refer to changes in norms of sexual conduct, and family structure. Of course, this is good news for the left, as it signals favorable long-run changes in personality. Unfortunately, pessimism has become so ingrained a leftist habit that many of us have trouble recognizing this.
The task for the left is to look past the frequently disheartening news to the underlying advances of a basically progressive outlook and take the lead in formulating political strategies that give it a coherent expression.
Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema