Moral degeneracy the root of our problems

Columbine. Blacksburg. Carson City. Sandy Hook. Aurora. Fort Hood. Nashville. Marysville. Charleston. Roseburg.

The list goes on a lot longer than this.

Whether a school, a mall or shopping center, military base, movie theater or a church, mass shootings seem to have become commonplace across America. Their occurrences are always shocking. The frequency alarming.

Instead of looking deeper into the reasons behind these killers’ actions, though, our society finds it easier to examine only skin deep and blame the weapons used to carry out their crimes.

Something drove these people to go to the descipably extreme measures they did. Something way outside of human reason motivated them to kill at random, spraying crowds of adults and children with bullets.

But we lack the courage to examine deeper what led them to the conclusion that senseless killing was the answer to their problems, and to ours. We not only refuse to examine, but we also do not want to accept the truth when it points squarely at us.

Nobody wants to believe that perhaps our collective culture has contributed to the mental instability of these severely disturbed individuals.

In most of the mass shooting events, the killers seemed to have a death wish; either taking others’ lives along with their own, or waiting for authorities to do it for them after they’ve committed their egregious crimes. What could possibly convince the shooters that life is not worth living anymore, either for themselves or for others?

Now, I don’t have the highest intelligence quotient, and I don’t claim to be smart or have all of the answers. But the Almighty has blessed me with the gift of insight. He has also blessed me with an accurate gut feeling, and the ability to know the answer based on hunches.

And my gut, a hunch, tells me something has been happening in American culture that has driven these killers to act out of utter frustration, blind desperation, white-hot anger and rage.

Modern America lacks something that was ever-present a century or more ago: Real hope.

The individuals who have committed mass killings within the past century were acting out because they did not sense that they had any hope for resolving their own conflicts. It was easier to blame others than to seek healthy, positive solutions to their problems. So, instead of being able to cling to something greater than themselves, something they could hope for, they acted out in blind rage and complete, utter hopelessness; choosing to snuff out lives that had nothing to do with their internal conflicts but nonetheless absorbed the ire.

For them, homicide and/or suicide appeared to be the only way out; the only real and final solution for dealing with their problems.

I find it more than a coincidence that the incidence and frequency of mass killings in America have increased as our regard for God, our Creator, has decreased.

Since the 1960s, popular culture has done much more than insist on teaching evolution in school to minimize God’s influence on humankind. The secular humanists, atheists and agnostics of pop culture have pushed to see God completely removed from school, from the courtroom, and from public places in general.

From the very beginning, the purpose was about much more than simply teaching another theory of human origin to school children. Scopes was a tool used to gain a foothold in the door; a Machiavellian means to an end.

And that end has been the death of God in American consciousness.

The people that have been steadily pushing God out of our daily lives have insisted that there is no God. He never existed in the first place. This has killed His presence in the hearts of millions of people, and with it the omnipresent hope that comes with Him.

Today our culture frowns on believing in things that one cannot see, hear, touch, smell or taste beyond our physical senses. If it’s not empirical, then it doesn’t exist. So, to put hope in something greater than ourselves and which transcends our senses is looked at as a fool’s errand.

To believe and trust in an invisible deity is naïve. We can only count on what is carnal; not what is supernatural.

And so, when the physical world lets us down, again and again without mercy, we become understandably hopeless. There is nothing to count on when our physical world betrays us. We are told we should not believe in anything beyond ourselves. But when we feel demoralized inside from all of the hopelessness outside, there is nothing to believe in anymore. And when we have nothing to believe in, life becomes meaningless and pointless. Life starts to take on a desensitized character. We begin to see it about as valuable as all of the rest of the betrayals in the physical world.

Human life becomes about as precious as those pixelated versions depicted in video games, movies and television programs.

Because modern American culture has denied the existence of God, we have been left to our own devices and to deal with our problems ourselves. Our Creator gave us free will, after all, and we must accept and live with the consequences of our decisions and actions.

The consequence of denying God is that we don’t receive His help as long as we deny Him.

And one thing I know for sure: We have no answers apart from God to the marked increase in mass shootings over the past half century. Arrogant man has found no solution to this endemic problem independent of God.

And that is why we are grasping at straws by blaming guns. They are empirical or carnal objects, after all, albeit inanimate. But it’s easier to blame them than look into ourselves and ask why.

We are treating the symptoms of a deeper, more pathological problem. Consequently, the problem still exists and we are doomed to see it repeated indefinitely.

Many people in America today lack the moral aptitude sufficient for understanding right from wrong; or, perhaps more poignantly, why there is right and why there is wrong. They’ve been taught by the very people who insist God and His decrees are non-existent that there are more gray areas than black and white. Right and wrong are relative terms, and differ from individual to individual, culture to culture.

The lines of right and wrong, and their very distinctive boundaries, have gotten blurred. The lines have gotten crossed, so that right is now perceived as wrong, and wrong is now perceived as right.

The result has been chaos.

We have heard these messages for decades: There is no purpose to life; our being here is entirely by accident. The complexity of life as we know it was a complete fluke. So, go and do your own thing. Do what makes you feel good, and disregard what others think.

People have taken this message to heart, and now they have absolutely no regard for others; either morally or civilly.

Our actions, collectively and individually, are self-serving. There is no better example of this than on Black Friday morning when mobs of people rush the stores to get the best deal before anyone else can.

People have gotten into brawls over material. They’ve crushed to death people in their mob-like frenzy. All in selfish endeavors.

In truth, there are times when what others think does matter. For instance, society has determined that sexual exploitation of children is a crime, so should a person go ahead and do it because it makes them feel good, disregarding what others—meaning collective society—may think?

We have determined that bullying is wrong, too, but we are perhaps intruding upon someone else’s right to feel good at the expense of others without regard for their feelings or what they may think about that.

When a person in the wilderness loses his compass, his chances of getting lost are much greater. The American people have lost their moral compass in a wilderness of chaotic relativism.

The truth is that life is not just a cauldron full of random ingredients that make up some sort of strange stone soup. It is not simply chaos occurring whenever and however it does.

There is a purpose to life, and there is a compass that can help us navigate through the chaotic events that seem to overcome our physical senses.

The truth is that this compass is not relative, either. There is a true north, just as there is with a physical compass. There is a south, an east and a west, too. Its directions are not whatever we want them to be, and whatever makes us feel good.

And the truth is that God is not dead, after all. We’ve just killed His existence in our hearts, and with Him a moral compass to direct our lives, to give us hope.

Theologians have defined Hell as being separated from God. When we deny His existence, kill Him in our hearts, then we are choosing to live separate from Him. And the life we forge for ourselves becomes our own Hell on Earth.

Perhaps this is the greatest tragedy that has come with the sense of hopelessness so many people feel today. They are literally living in a man-made Hell that doesn’t have to exist. But we’ve chosen it, and many more people don’t even realize it.

In their minds, this is the way life is and always has been: A meaningless, hopeless, purposeless pit of existence.

Historic King Solomon of Israel expressed in the Book of Ecclesiastes the futility of all of our actions apart from God. Everything is meaningless if done without God.

He was right.

Hopelessness has now become an epidemic that has infected old and young alike. It is the youth, especially, who are most vulnerable because they aren’t mature enough to cope with life’s disappointments. Without God, things get bleak and hopeless pretty darned fast. And they are the ones who have routinely taken their own lives along with others. They seek a way out of the chaos of life, out of the hopelessness, purposelessness and meaninglessness that they have perceived human life to be.

If we are going to get anywhere close to solving the problem of moral degeneracy, which has led to the increased frequency in mass killings, then we need to acknowledge the existence of God. We need to bury our human pride and reach out to Him for help. We need to honor instead of despise Him.

If we do not, and we continue on our present course, then current trends will continue, even worsen, and the events that follow will serve only to continually humiliate us.

Jesus Christ says in His Gospel that those who humble themselves will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled.

Humans have been humbled numerous times throughout their history. And, in America, the mass shootings of the past century should have served to humble us as well. But we insist on continuing to exalt ourselves, so we are continually humiliated by our pride.

The Old Testament Book of Proverbs also says that pride comes before a fall. America has fallen so much, that you’d think it would have shaken all of the pride out of us by now. But no. We continue to proudly exalt ourselves, deny God, and insist on going this life alone and apart from Him.

How many more falls do you suppose we may be due?

I perish the thought, and so should you.

Don't give up...on life or your dreams

There is a part in the movie “Tin Cup” where Kevin Costner’s character refuses to quit.

Professional golfer Roy McAvoy is on the 18^th fairway in the final round of the U.S. Open, trying to clear the ominous water hazard separating him from the green.

His first ball falls well short of the green, splashing into the water. So does the second. The third. And the fourth shot. All the while, the entire gallery, the players and even McAvoy’s caddy are gasping at the futility of his efforts.

But not Roy.

With each failed attempt, he places a new ball on the spot and hits it with even more determination than the first.

Until finally, after several failed attempts, McAvoy’s ball clears the water and rolls into the cup.

And even though he didn’t win the Open, McAvoy had proven a point: Don’t give up. Keep trying.

Of course, there was a scene in the movie were McAvoy was ready to throw in the towel. Yet he was reminded of his dream and all that it had taken to get so close to it.

It’s easy to let long odds or repeated failures rule out our dreams. Just ask Rudy Ruettiger, the undersized and over-tenacious dreamer who ended up outlasting some of America’s most highly touted athletes to make the best college football team in the country.

Not only did he lack the physical prowess to play at Notre Dame, but Ruettiger also did not have the grades to gain entry into one of the nation’s most prestigious private universities.

As a result, many of Ruettiger’s contemporaries doubted him. His dream was just a dream and nothing more.

But Rudy was determined to prove everyone—including himself—wrong. Yes, even Rudy struggled with doubt.

He spent two years diving headlong into his studies at Holy Cross Junior College in an effort to qualify for admission to Notre Dame.

He was turned down every semester leading up to his final one of eligibility when he finally achieved acceptance.

Once there, the going got tougher for Rudy. He had to work extra hard and endure a high degree of ridicule just to win a spot on the football practice squad. He then took a tremendous physical beating from the varsity players against who he scrimmaged.

But no matter how many times Rudy got knocked down, he’d rise right back up on his feet to take yet another hit. He had collected two years’ worth of cuts and bruises just for an opportunity to suit up for one game.

Finally, Rudy had earned a spot on the team during its last home game of the 1974 season. In 1992, a movie was made in tribute to Rudy’s spirited achievement.

Everyone has a dream, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. But it’s up to each of us to decide how badly we want it.

As a kid, I had a dream to author my own comic strip to appear alongside Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” and Jim Davis’ “Garfield.” But I let all of the little details in life get in the way of pursuing this dream. If it wasn’t college, then it was trying to land my first full-time job. If it wasn’t work, then it was graduate school. And if it wasn’t graduate school, then it was changing careers or the pursuit of a promotion.

I even used my growing family as reason enough not to pursue my dream.

Well, now I find myself in a place in life where the only doors that seem to be open to me at this time are related to my cartoon art and developing a comic strip. This occurred after a diagnosis that left me disabled and out of work. I have been unsuccessful in all other work-related pursuits outside of my artwork.

Right now, that is what is driving me. My dream is back, alive, well and thriving. I realized how much time I wasted with one excuse after another, and one reason after another for not chasing the dream that used to motivate me when I was younger.

Now the fire is back, and there is no greater satisfaction than chasing a dream with all the fervor of youth long forgotten.

After more than 20 years of letting life’s little details distract me from a goal I set before even starting puberty, I am back on track. God willing, I will stay the course this time around. I don’t want any regrets. I don’t want to look back twenty years from now and wish that I coulda, shoulda or woulda done something different.

Perhaps the best thing about resurrecting my dream at this stage in life is that I am mature enough to understand and accept that failure is going to be part of the chase. It will test my determination and my resolve. A much younger me might have gotten discouraged and given up after the first couple of rejections.

No dream has ever been realized without a substantial amount of work, sacrifice, and disappointment. It doesn’t take much to dream. However, much effort is required to make it come true.

But if I can do it at a stage in life when most people are unwilling to change careers and take these kinds of risks, then so can anyone else with the drive and determination to chase a dream again.

Don’t be afraid to dream. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to fail. For dreams only die when we stop chasing them.

Anti-smoking hypocrisy

You see it on television, and hear it on the radio frequently. You read it in print or online just about everywhere.

Don’t smoke. Smoking kills.

The anti-smoking crusade, which started back in the seventies and picked up steam in the eighties, has succeeded in getting Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man removed completely from the media. Tobacco is the first thing to get taxed whenever government needs more revenue. And states have passed laws banning tobacco use in public and private spaces.

In some states, there aren’t even smoking sections of restaurants anymore. These places have now become smoke free.

Don’t get me wrong: I am happy not to breathe in the tar and smoke from tobacco products. Quite frankly, it makes me nauseous, and I physically am unable to tolerate exposure to much of it.

However, where I take exception to the attack on tobacco products and those who use them is in the hypocrisy of those doing the attacking.

Popular culture has proudly taken up the anti-smoking banner. Its most outspoken voices verbosely proclaim the evils of smoking before puffing on their expensive imported cigars in private. They get high on marijuana and other illicit drugs after decrying the health risks posed by tobacco. And they drink till they drop at every fundraiser or party serving spirits; all the while bad-mouthing big tobacco.

Popular culturists say it isn’t right to let Joe Camel promote his product to children with the innocence of a cartoon character. But they say nothing about the cutesy Clydesdale foals and Dalmatian puppies that a certain beer company uses to create a softer, gentler and more innocent image of alcohol products.

No one said a thing when this same company employed the adorable antics of a Bull Terrier named Spuds to sell its product to people who liked cute, fuzzy and cuddly. Funny thing, that sort of image tends to appeal to children as much as cartoon characters do.

Furthermore, nobody says anything about the way beer and liquor commercials try to sell their products as “fun” and “exciting” to those demographics favoring the party life: namely college-age individuals, many of whom haven’t quite reached the age of 21 yet.

Don’t we think that beer and liquor commercials, which convey a message that a party isn’t fun unless there is alcohol involved, may appeal to under-aged consumers, too?

Where is the outrage over the messages that alcohol producers send in their advertisements?

Alcohol is just as deadly as tobacco, and its negative effects are even more widespread.

The anti-smoking crusaders like to point to second-hand smoke as a reason for totally banning tobacco products. But what about alcohol? How many people in a family become physically, mentally and emotionally harmed by a person who has bought—hook, line and sinker—the messages that alcohol products are fun, relaxing and a “vacation in a bottle,” then take out their frustrations on their loved ones? How widespread can the effects of alcohol use become if a person chooses to drink, get behind the wheel of a car, and drive? How far-reaching do you suppose alcohol use becomes for children born to women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy?

How many people can get hurt, and how many lives damaged, from alcohol versus tobacco use?

But, for some strange reason, alcohol is not treated with the same disdain that tobacco is.

Anti-smoking crusaders will condemn even one puff from a cigarette as heresy, but then retire after work to the neighborhood pub to enjoy a nip or two.

Our culture seems to have no qualms about condemning smokers and the products they use; but it is somehow reticent and reluctant to be the same way about alcohol and its users.

Even the push to legalize marijuana across the country has garnered not even a hush or whisper of protest from the anti-smoking crusaders. Here we have an entire culture ready to flush smoking down the toilet, but welcome pot use into the folds of popular recreational use right alongside alcohol.

My question is, why?

What’s with the hypocrisy? If someone out there could give me a cogent, rational reason why, then perhaps I can have more respect for the anti-smoking movement. As it is, though, the anti-smoking culture appears to cherry-pick the vices it finds offensive, while leaving others alone to flourish and thrive.

Until the hypocrisy is explained and addressed, I cannot support the anti-smoking crusade. It requires more than just science to back it up. It needs integrity, too.

Clinton the Zealot

Being First Lady and the marionette who pulled her husband’s political strings in the Oval Office wasn’t enough. Moving to New York State and getting elected to the United States Senate wasn’t enough, either.

Running a strong presidential campaign in 2008 that went down to the wire sure wasn’t enough. And accepting a White House cabinet post as a political concession gift from Barack Obama obviously was not enough.

That is why Hillary Clinton is running for President of the United States … again.

Some see her as an ambitious woman striving to achieve a dream. Others see her as stubborn, willful, and unaware when she has been licked. And, still others see her as a manipulative …um, well, you know… with an insatiable appetite for political power.

Then there are people like me who feel Hillary Clinton is a political zealot who doesn’t know when to stop pushing because of some psychological preoccupation she has with trying to prove to the world that she is as good as any man at gaining power.

It is the reason why Hillary held closed-door meetings at the White House over her health care reform plan she proposed as First Lady back in the early nineties.

It is the reason why she moved to New York State after she and Bill moved out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2001. She knew that she was unlikely to win any seat to national office from her home state of Arkansas, so she established residency in the state of New York for the expressed purpose of running for a U.S. Senate seat that happened to be available.

And the people of New York bit hook, line and sinker. They loved her, but her affection for them was superficial; it was tied up in their votes. She only liked New Yorkers for what they could give her: A seat in Congress at the U.S. Capitol.

With help from her allies in the Democratic National Committee, she wasted little time establishing herself on important committees and sub-committees as a junior senator.

No sooner had Hillary completed her first six-year senate term and been re-elected to a second, then she was already planning a run for President.

Like the eight years she spent as First Lady behind her husband’s decisions in the Oval Office, Hillary used her senate seat as a springboard for something bigger… and more powerful.

Turns out she wasn’t really interested in serving in the U.S. Senate after all. She wasn’t that invested in the people of New York State, either. As Machiavelli might have put in, they were a means to an end for her.

Entering the Iowa Caucus in 2008, Hillary was considered the democratic front-runner. There was no one to contest her party nomination, and no one viably to stop her from her march to the White House.

But just as Hillary had thought her ship had finally come in, a train called Obama was leaving the station and picking up steam. Fast.

Before she knew it, Hillary was the underdog to a man who masterfully created political hysteria around him. Although she didn’t go down without a fight, she did eventually concede her party’s nomination to Obama, who, at the bequest of party leaders, offered Hillary a parting concession gift: A cabinet post.

And so, the belle of Little Rock conceded and graciously accepted the bribe of a cabinet position should Obama beat John McCain in the general election.

Which, of course, he did. And Hillary assumed the office of Secretary of State, head of the State Department, one of the most important and potent cabinet posts in the White House. If Hillary sought national political power, she now had it.

But serving nearly four years as a national figure head of the United States government still wasn’t enough.

Hillary wants ultimate political power. She wants to be at the very top; not merely near or next to it. In her mind, she still has something to prove to herself. She thinks she has to become POTUS, or else she is doomed a failure in life.

There is something deeply psychological about this woman’s zeal for the White House and the office of POTUS. It is something I fear, and it is chief reason enough for me not to vote for her.

I have a fundamental aversion to career politicians anyway; especially those who manipulate their way up the political ladder to achieve greater importance for themselves and more power over others.

Hillary is the personification of the type of leader that I find distasteful. And her psychological problems surrounding this irrational, unreasonable need to gain the White House on her own and for herself is downright scary.

God help the United States if Hillary Clinton gets elected POTUS. It will be like Napoleon Bonaparte becoming Consul of France. Hopefully, we aren’t forced to experience another Waterloo. One was enough for the whole world.