Basic human decency
December 30th, 2024
It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning — Jimmy Carter
Funny how that works when you are not only a decent human but also an honest person. If you speak the inconvenient truth you then will be made a laughingstock by the media and corporate powers. And it takes a very strong person to take all the belittling insults thrown your way and remain a decent person. Much stronger than any crop of current thin-skinned and insecure morons hiding behind obnoxiousness, vengeance, and name-calling. Being decent is a handicap — in politics and real life. It takes guts to carry on true to your convictions without hurting others. It takes guts to remain true to yourself.
