Submitted by Harry Hipps II (published in the Hickory Daily Record on 10/4/2008)
After Sept. 11, we heard a lot about how we failed to connect the dots and see the danger. America is so specialized and compartmentalized that we apparently have little ability to look at our life and society as a whole.
Our politics have become corrupt and dysfunctional, corporations overpay executives and cook the books so few people really know what’s going on. Drugs, divorce, crime and incivility are so common we just tolerate them and keep on going.
I believe the root of almost all of our dilemmas stems from a severe decline, if not collapse, of our moral backbone. We removed prayer from our schools and the 10 Commandments from our courthouses. Few are well versed in the Bible or even read it. Simply mentioning the name of Jesus Christ is enough to invite cries of judgmentalism.
We suffer from poor ethics, greed, lack of compassion and a shortsightedness that focuses on what we can satisfy ourselves with right now, rather than looking out for our common good for the future.
We so completely lack any moral compass that we treat every religion, every law, every idea as equally valid when common sense and experience show that some things are right and some things are wrong, period.
We have nothing to guide us and provide the moral structure we need. The next time we see a crime, crooked politician, or corporate CEO going to jail, connect the dots. Until we get back to One Nation, Under God, we can expect more of the same.
-- Harry Hipps II
