The Plight of Modern Youth
Delusion: a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary (Merriam Webster)
Disillusion: the condition of being dissatisfied or defeated in expectation or hope (Merriam Webster)
Despair
Before we proceed with this article, we must make some presuppositions upon which this essay will rest. The first of which is the following, our nation is in disrepair that much I believe is obvious. I believe the evidence is all around us but we need not look much further than our declining life expectancy, due to mid-life mortality. A great deal of these are “deaths of despair” A shocking thing to happen in a land where the “streets are paved with gold.” America is no longer that idyllic place, at least not to the extent it used to be. There is something sick with its heart, so much so that people decry its history and seek to burn it down. They seek death rather than reform, transgression rather than reflection. Many people of the world and education want to see America crumble, they want to transgress time, in many different ways. Firstly take us to a time before the West, to a pagan area, secondly, they want to rewrite history, creating a place in time that never truly existed. However, it is true enough to pass off as history, but it would be an unstable axiom on which to rest because it is full of lies!
Is America Worth Saving?
Now we must address the second presupposition, is America worth saving? I believe so, is a good place and we should endeavor to rescue it from the jaws of death. I think this too is an easy thing to suss out. One must realize that if all of the slander of the history of America is slander, then logically America is not what they have said it is, an obvious leap. Then comes the slightly more difficult problem of what then is America?
Well, John Adams gives a pretty concise definition of what America is in a letter he wrote to the Abbé de Mably, he spells out a lot. He gives a brief history of the American revolutions but then hits on (in his mind) the four tenets of American life. “The four Institutions intended are, 1. the Towns. 2. The Churches. 3. The Schools. and 4. the Militia” (Adams, 1783). After spelling that out he goes into depth about each of those four things. He talks about the villages and the towns, and how they are set up and self-containing. He speaks about how they are endowed with privileges and make up a “body politick.” He speaks on the school and what they have to do and what they have to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and the rudiments of Greek and Latin. He points out that the Churches are “Zealous Friends of Liberty” and that each of the towns will have several parishes that are integral parts of the community. Whether it be through charity or preaching, and above all they are pious men who influence through their virtue. Adams does not say that they are integral parts of the community explicitly, however, if they do what Adams says that they do they have a role in every part of society, without which a large gap would be left in that community. Finally, there is the militia which “comprehends the whole people” but we can address the militia at a later date.
Rather, I would like to address the first two things when it comes to what America is, while all four are necessary I believe the 1st two are the most necessary.
“Thus, Sir you have a Brief Sketch of the four Principal Sources of that Wisdom in Council, and that skill and Bravery in War, which have produced the American Revolution and which I hope will be Sacredly preserved as the foundations of a free, happy and prosperous People” (Adams, 1783).
These are what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they created the government that we now have. I would say that the framers of the Constitution get the final say about what the country is and what it is supposed to stand for. If this is what America stands for then I am all about it. You see that in the mind of John Adams, this is what American’s fought the war over, yes they disliked the taxes but it was about the oppression. The oppression that was keeping them away from this kind of society! This is what America was always supposed to be about!
Delusion and Disillusioned
So now we come to the issue of what has happened to our once great nation? Well, I have given that some thought and I believe that I have come to the following conclusion. There are generally two types of people who take a negative view of America, and unfortunately, they get quite a large say. There are those who are “Delusional” and believe that America is something totally against what it actually stands for. Then there are those who are Disillusioned, so tired of fighting and attempting to rebut the other’s argument, that they abdicate. I’m afraid this is the much worse category to be in.
Delusion:
These are those individuals who ascribe to something like the 1619 project a false view of the world. They are those who believe in moral relativism, as well as cultural relativism. This is a rather untoward notion that any culture is a good culture simply because it’s a different culture. No culture can be any better than any other culture, therefore any culture that oppressed or usurped culture is a bad one. Any culture that insists it is a better one is the very devil itself. Hence America is a wicked and evil place, because it is a “colonizing” culture, insisting the way we live is better. Which it is, hence millions of people still try to get here every year. Moreover, the notion that one culture cannot be greater than another culture is also ridiculous, and one in which they do not believe anyway. How many times have people from the left criticized a culture of traditionalism rising on the right? A return to a culture that is more traditional where the Wife is a homemaker. Yet to them, this is an oppressive culture that is bad, or the leftist-atheists are often seen criticizing Christianity. A culture with which they disagree, some atheists believe that those who must believe in a God suffer some form of Mental handicap. This is of course another example of asserting that one style of living (a.k.a. a culture) is better than another.
There is the ridiculous notion of the 1619 project preaching false history, that America was rooted in racism. There is the false notion that the colonists in America would wantonly murder the Native Americans. A false notion that we were oppressive with enforcing our cultures and traditions onto the natives. I do not deny that there was some abuse, however, the degree can be debated. There can also be a debate on the exchange of abuses, the Natives by no means, were innocent of bloodshed.
The delusion of the modern culture is one of wanton ignorance, a refusal to assess and reflect. They have a false belief that America is not what she says she is, but rather that it is a dystopic land rooted in evil and false beliefs. I call it a delusion because not only is this false, but the founders were very clear about what the revolution was about and what values would be instilled in this country. Moreover, it is a psychotic belief, meaning that it is uprooted from reality, they are entrenched in this belief to the forsaking and negation of the real. Thereby making their beliefs about this country, about America a delusion.
Disillusion:
Now we get to the other side, those young people who are disillusioned, however, there are also many older people who suffer the same. Those men and women who have long been at the battle for America’s soul, fighting and losing. They are at the place where they wish no longer to fight. They are disillusioned with America and with their plight, values constantly being attacked. They are called bigoted and racist, slandered as evil, homophobic, imperialistic, outdated, compassionless, and many other things. Many people are disillusioned because they’ve been in the game for a while; then some see the precipice they must come upon to enter the fight. They are disillusioned with the whole idea of a battle for America, disillusioned about even fighting for their conservative or Christian values. So they are cowed into silence, coerced into “going along to get along” because they would rather not have the conflict.
16 And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better, ifGod should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong ~ 1 Peter 3:16-17
“Going along to get along,” is a false peace, I believe, there is nothing honorable about being cowed into silence when you know that you should speak. Now, this does not mean that one ought to pick every single fight and die on every hill. That is simply not practical, however as Solzhenitsyn said “Even if all is covered by lies, even if all is under their rule, let us resist in the smallest way: Let their rule hold not through me!” Cowardice is thus refusing to speak when you know that you were supposed, to; it is also saying what you do not believe, voluntarily lying to not stir the pot. Americans are in a state of disillusionment whereupon they adopt the role of the coward because they “don’t want to cause trouble” or because “It’s not worth the bother of it.” Finally, because we believe that “This is only our temporary home, and we will win in the end anyways.”
If that is your attitude then why are you here at all? If you take the approach of “our temporary home” then why are you hanging around at all? If you were planning on getting an apartment, but only for two years before moving again, do you not clean your apartment because it is only temporary? Of course not! This life is about a 76-year-long ride, I want to ensure that it is a smooth ride. I want to ensure that people have access to the Truth! That those who are desiring earnestly for the Truth will be able to find it! Moreover, if no one is doing the fighting how will we win? God has chosen us to be his warriors on Earth, therefore we must war.
What We Are Fighting For
Lest there is confusion about what I am saying, I wish to be very clear; America is not eternal, America is not what we are fighting for. Christianity, the Kingdom of God, can exist without America. However, America cannot exist without the Kingdom of God, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” Galatians 5:1. America’s core tenets are that of the Christian system, freedom is a foundation that can be derived from nowhere other than the Bible. We are not in a battle for America, we are in a battle for the SOUL of America, the spirit that will incarnate it. The Spirit that has pervaded America for 2 centuries was Christianity, the church. If we can build back the church we will, necessarily, build back America! As I said, America cannot exist without the Church, however, the Church cannot exist in silence. Its very purpose is to declare the Good News of Christ’s coming; its essence is to join together and speak about the Truth and Beauty of God. Its role is an active one, a vocal one! Disillusion is not an option, Christ is our Strength, Christ is our comfort, and our Joy. In him we need not suffer disillusionment and sorrow, we need not succumb to the cowardice of silence.
So do not be disillusioned, do not succumb to it, and take courage in knowing that as the Church lives, so too can America. This beautiful country created such flourishing and opportunity for countless millions of people! However, do not forget that we must still fight for it, even harder to do is to Live for it! Taking Joy in the battles is a much harder thing to do, however, we need not fight alone! Now if you cannot fight, if you cannot speak out, as Solzhenitsyn said, at least do not lie. Nor become disillusioned with the whole battle, take hope in Christ for when you hope, you will overcome the disillusionment!
