And This is Progress????
In the last 50 years our national congress has passed, and various presidents have signed into law, literally tens of thousands of laws and regulations, all designed, at least theoretically to establish and define, if not create, an ethical and moral “good society.” The Supreme Court has issued hundreds of verdicts and interpretations of those laws. Add to these the gross number of laws and rulings that have been added by our state governments and the sheer number and weight of all this legislation and judicial ruling is way beyond staggering the imagination. It is expressive of man’s vain hope that government, any government can provide a safe, secure, and prosperously happy society. It is stunning to see how man persists in this hope in the face of such contrary results!
So, how’s it really working for us? Do you feel safer, more secure, and more happily prosperous than you did 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 20? 40? 50? Are we experiencing a “kinder, gentler” culture?
How is our public education system working? 50 years ago we were number 1 in the world. No one would dare to claim that today. Most estimates rank us in the 20s somewhere. Are we getting better?
How about our economy? 50 years ago we were the richest lender-nation in the world. Today we are the world’s greatest debtor-nation, our debt growing every time congress is in session. (Republican or Democrat)
This is progress? How the mighty have fallen! And where will the bottom be? And how did this happen?
Here is my take. It all started in the Garden of Eden and accelerated greatly when in 1960-61 the Supreme Court took God out of our public schools. This opened the door to resisting ultimate authority and the rebellion against all authority of the 60s, including the sexual revolution fueled by the pill and resulting in the objectification of women. Sexual liberation brought none of the hoped for benefits to women and actually deprived them of the respect of men and severely damaged the integrity of the family unit. Men were freed from the responsibility of parenting children they fathered when aborting (murdering) unwanted children was legalized and amazingly recognized as a constitutional right by the Supreme Court. A society that accepts the killing of babies is not a “good society.” God was not considered to be a part of the decision to grant the right of a woman to murder her unborn baby either legally or morally.
Through the 60s and 70s all measures 
of societal health trended down leading to the greed and immoral public behaviors of leaders in government, business, and the church of the 80s and 90s which expands and continues to this day. Obscene rappers and immoral entertainers have become our “heroes” and the definers of acceptable behavior. Unwed and homosexual procreation are accepted and our vice-president just proclaimed that homosexual marriage will soon become the law of the land. (Elton John’s having a baby!)
We have lost shame. We have lost extrinsic standard. We are losing hope for a better tomorrow.
This is all the inevitable result of ignoring the truth of a statement made by Fyodor Dostoevsky when he said “Without God anything is permissible, crime is inevitable.” Our Founders knew this to be true.
John Adams said: “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
George Washington echoed: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable parts.”
John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence is quoted: “Corruption of morals make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten material together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual.”
Has crime increased or decreased? How many prisoners do we have locked up as a percentage of our population today compared to 50 years ago? What is your chance of being a victim of violent crime today versus 50 years ago?
I could go on but it would be purposeless. The obvious fact is are that, when any honest person looks at the last 50 years they will see serious deterioration in our national moral standard which has led to the devastation of every measure of societal health.
Wonder how we have so lost our moral compass? If you want a clue go to http://www.barna.org/culture-articles/462-six-megathemes-emerge-from-2010 and get a sense of what happened to the church in 2010 and possibly http://buckjacobs.com/think-about-this-two-huge-flaws for a short discussion of the two critical flaws that have contributed mightily to our current situation.
There is only one possible recourse to reverse our slide from a culture of hope to a culture of ever increasing despair – repent and turn to God. And if we who claim to follow Jesus won’t or don’t lead our culture to a better place – who will? (II Chronicles 7:14)
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Buck Jacobs, Chairman and Founder of The C12 Group, LLC - Christian CEO and mentor. Buck has an extensive background in successful organizational development based on the principles found in scripture. The motto of the C12 group is "Building great companies for a greater purpose." 
I heard you deliver this message to the Upstate SC chapter of C-12 I thought you nailed it, I join with you to PRAY for our nation and we realize the level of repentance we need to have the Lord Heal our land.
Thank you for the KINGDOM CONTRIBUTION!!!!
Just like government can not be the solution to our problems, government can not be the blame of our problems.
Good comment Dow, the heart of the problem is a problem of the heart.
Thanks David, It was great to be with you all! Press on and make a difference!