A nation is only as good as the character of its people. Most Americans consider the United States a good nation and prove it with statistics citing the massive amounts of money our government, charities, and philanthropists donate to third world countries and needy people. Our government has pledged to uphold the values of liberty, freedom, and justice across the world, and immigrants flock to America in search of better lives.
Perhaps the best judge of a nation's character is its economic prosperity; prosperity is the result of moral restraint. Many nations never achieve prosperity because their people cannot restrain their immediate desires for wealth long enough to develop a thriving economy. True prosperity takes patience, hard work, and commonly shared values. Prosperous societies are based on the principles of liberty: rights come from God (and not government), personal and corporate responsibility, the equality of opportunity (not the equality of outcome), and the principle of indivisible liberty and justice for all.
The last 60 years have been extremely prosperous for the United States, a sign that, despite our many moral failings, a large core of society still holds to the values the nation was founded on.
However, Americans should not get too comfortable. Recent years have brought some startling and frightening revelations about American society. Ask any older American and they will tell you that the overall moral climate of the country has deteriorated. There is always a delay in cause to effect; the problems emerging in society today originated in problems many years ago.
America is no longer the economic powerhouse it used to be. Its industry is deteriorating, manufacturing is nearly gone, and its financial companies in disarray. The government is deeply in debt to foreign countries, and operates for nearly three-fourths of the year on borrowed money. What is the cause of this diminished prosperity?
Though many do not want to admit it, the moral climate of America is the cause for its current problems. If morals and values still pervaded society like they used to, Wall Street financiers would never have taken the wild risks with others' money like they did. The taxpayer would not stand for the government spending more than it takes in. Companies would make wiser decisions. The entire economic climate would be different if common-sense values were upheld.
Unfortunately, the economic problem was not fixed by the bailout; it was only deepened, and postponed to a later day of crisis. If America really wants to return to prosperity, it must return to those values and principles that made it economically prosperous in the first place.
The preservation and sustainment of Liberty depends on you. It's time to discover liberty or lose it.