IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
January 29, 2024
# 302 “Ah, yes, the seven…”
No matter how much things change, they remain the same. Ever hear that statement? No doubt, you have. Sadly, it more than applies to society today. If you need any proof, you don’t have to look very far. All it takes to understand what you see happening now is to compare today’s society with one that illustrated what happens when societal glue disappears.
Basically, a functioning society is held together by a common language, a shared history, and deeply held morals and values. Just in case you haven’t noticed, folks, the US is fractured in all three.
For hundreds of years, people coming to this country sought freedom and achievement. My paternal grandparents immigrated from the Republic of France in 1898. I proudly display my great grandfather’s immigration paper in my home and I well remember my grandfather telling me about his family’s early years in America. First and foremost, they all learned to speak English. English and a strong worth ethic formed the cornerstone of not only their lives, but of those of countless others welcomed here from far flung parts of the world.
Contrast that to today. We not only have phone prompts for Spanish, but we also see all manner of government documents printed in a myriad of languages. Teachers and schools are burdened with unwieldy numbers of children who have English as a second language. Anyone who knows anything about language will tell you that immersion is the sole path to success. Two generations before mine, adults retained their native language but spoke English in order to have success in the American workplace. I dream of America when, once again, English reigns in America as the gold standard of language.
Beyond the language problem, we have the obstacles presented by the challenge to have all people in this country share morals and values upon which this country was founded. Yes, it is true that the Congress opens each session with a prayer, but when was the last time you heard of a governmental body pausing to pray when faced with a really difficult situation? This happened more than once during the time when the Founding Fathers drafted the documents that make the United States the “beacon of freedom for the world.”
Going through The Federalist Papers, it is not hard to find references to The Almighty and Biblical wisdom. We are far more apt to hear the Lord’s name taken in vain today than invoked as guidance for sound decision making.
Biblical prophecy is often set aside as fiction by those who seek to gain for themselves at the expense of others. After all, if there is no consequence to sin, why not do whatever you please? Suffice it to say, this is an empty attitude rife with danger.
Let’s take a look at what has happened in the last three years. Perhaps the easiest reference is a list that most people could not quote if pressed to do so.
They share a number that most of us recognize as the lucky numeral. Sadly, the list is all too applicable to the world in which we find ourselves today. Although they may appear in slightly different order, they forewarn a dire future and their names are, undoubtedly, familiar to many – although mot as danger signals, but as laughable passè remnants of societies long gone.
Not so.
Lust. A reference to intense desire to engage in illegal or immoral sexual pleasure. You don’t need to look too far to see this one in practice today. Beyond the sexual reference, the strong and often unreasonable desire to gain wealth is easy to spot. Add to this drive the incessant push for fame and power and you can identify many of its adherents today.
Gluttony references the overconsumption of food or any other commodity to the point of waste. The countless number of overweight Americans illustrates this perfectly. Looking back to the 1950s, there was an occasional obese person seen, but the number seen today is high to the point where one sees so many of these people that they seem to blend into the background. How sad.
Greed. Sharing aliases with avarice, covetousness or cupidity, this takes lust and gluttony to the next level. The television program “Hoarders” may be funny to some people, but it clearly depicts irrationality. Brewing beneath the surface of greed are theft, robbery, bribery and corruption. Anyone come to mind here?
Sloth. Apologies to the furry animal with which so many people have a fascination, but sloth more than applies to a growing segment of Americans who would rather seek out as government check than make their own money.
Ask any good parent what he or she wants for a child and you will likely hear is not a career choice, but the concept of personal responsibility. Avoiding responsibility is the hallmark of sloth. Have you ever heard this? Those who do not work should not eat. Sadly, one of the most damaging aftereffects of the Chinese virus pandemic was the disintegration of the work ethic after the government began to pay people to stay home from work. It hasn’t improved either. One look at “NOW HIRING” across the spectrum of employers tells you that – and in spades!
Wrath. Want to see uncontrolled anger? Turn on any major media television news broadcast. Wrath feeds on a terrible emotion – vengeance. The push to harm anyone who holds to basic beliefs of this republic (yes, republic not democracy) festers among the self-absorbed broadcasters today. Inspired by left-wing professors in the all-but-extinct journalism school with ethics, they are doomed to fall for concepts devoid of any true worth. For example, name one place across this planet where socialism has succeeded. You can’t. Yet, the news media, both print and broadcast, continue to expound the “DEI” line when it defies logic and result.
Envy. Oh, my. This attitude is familiar, isn’t it? To want something that belongs to another, be it an actual item, a talent or a lifestyle. Ah, the push to have what others have. Lest we forget, that should hinge on effort alone and should not be the “be all, end all” of one’s ambition. Happy people don’t envy others, they work to get ahead on their own. And what is the excuse that envious people expound? Those whom they envy simply don’t deserve what they have. What a vacuous and empty criticism. Don’t get me wrong, many of us would love to have the talents of others, but not to the point of envy. Just wishful thinking….
Pride. To feel pride is normal for people, but when it spirals to the level of excess, pride becomes – not an asset – but a real liability. Many assess pride as the root cause of its other six compatriots.
And so, let’s take a look at the seven and apply them to what we see today.
Lust. What was once limited to adult audiences and roundly banned in mainstream entertainment is not marketed to our children. If you are a boy and want to be a girl, or vice versa, counseling is not the answer. Gender reassignment and genital surgeries. It’s as if this trend is the “IN THING” for teens. Child development doesn’t end at 12 or 13, yet some states allow children of this age to make decisions well beyond their capability to discern the long-term consequences. The fact that 30% of Gen-Z youth consider themselves LBGTQ should scare the pants off everyone. A condition once considered a form of mental illness now is seen as a condition remedied by medication and/or surgery. This confounds rational thinking Americans.
Gluttony. The explosion of obesity in our population.
Greed. This is an easy one to recognize. Crowds breaking into stores and looting them with abandon with law enforcement standing by without doing a thing to stop it. Spiraling crime. The basic lack of respect for life. The push for a minimal annual income. Anything to get money without working for it. Equality of opportunity has been killed on the altar of equality of outcome.
Add bribery and corruption and you have the perfect picture of targeted politics at its zenith. Anything for gain. Forget honesty and integrity. The end justifies the means. What an attitude!
Sloth. Lack of ambition. Reliance on government for an income. Disability payments to those who falsified applications. Even when genuinely deserved, restrictions impede those who want to get ahead with limits on earnings that negate needed funds to forge ahead. Sadly, sloth, in many instances, is actually encouraged. It’s not a game, but many play it as such.
Wrath. I cannot remember an instance in which large groups of people went to the streets in anger. Crowds in my youth were for important events and national holiday parades. Nobody painted the streets, defaced buildings, wrecked businesses, vandalized and destroyed law enforcement facilities, and lauded criminals who, unfortunately, lost their lives in a faceoff with police. The scene in “Network” comes to mind. Shocking to movie audiences, a man leaned out of a window and shouted, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” A lot of us feel that way facing a society rife with crime, corruption, and downright cheating. Instead of instilling love in children, too many entities encourage hate.
Envy. This attitude has destroyed too many lives to count. Wanting what others have to an exaggerated level is not normal. The excuse is that the person envied does not deserve what he or she has is lame and crass.
Pride. The push to excel over all others feeds into the other of its six companion sins.
And today, we see the elements of the seven deadly sins played out daily in big business, big government, and big media. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find two cities to complement those cited as blasphemous in the Bible.
Sodom and Gomorrah were awash with homosexuality, debauchery, crime, and corruption – fit companions to the seven mentioned herein. And what are our contemporary examples in America? Although there are many, two recognizable cities are Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.
These once beautiful cities now are scenes of streets littered with human feces, open drug use, needles, muggings, murders, fetid camps of homeless, closing businesses, and yes, if financially able, fleeing residents.
Mayors and judges seem blind to what we see as chaos and evil.
And, as if governmental dereliction of duty isn’t enough, consider today’s broadcast televised advertising. I deem private life just that – private. Now, open to children’s eyes, are ads flaunting homosexuality, same sex couples and venereal disease medications all couched among party scenes that play on emotions of immature minds. And all of this is portrayed as if it is normal. l When will enough be enough? Everything society considered wrong has been upended, and older Americans seem the only ones to speak out against it.
In sum, good is now represented as evil and evil as good. This goes way beyond anything seen for centuries. I cite condoning to the abortion of babies up to and including the time of birth, to recognize same sex marriages, to exploit and virtually sterilize children with the transgender movement, to encourage dependence on the government for basic needs, and to purposefully turn Americans against one another – all mirroring that which Lot saw and from which he fled—in sum, to “win at any cost.”
And what will the punishment be for all this that we witness? While we who believe in God have our opinion, there is no way to know what lies ahead or the timing of it. All we can do is call out sin where we see it, vote against it, and demand that the country envisioned and planned by our Founding Fathers be restored. The so-called silent majority needs to step up and call this out for what it is – and that goes from the pulpits across the nation. Being quiet doesn’t solve the problems we face.
Revisit some famous quotes that apply here.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton
Adding to that famous quote, Howard Nemerov added, …”and if you surrender your personal responsibility to a government which promises to take care of you, they will only take care of themselves.”
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln, considering his timing of the 1860s, had a prophetic view of the nation. Consider these, his words.
“I see in the future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country… corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”
Sound familiar?
We need to awaken he younger generation to truth and speak truth to power, such as it is. Lucky seven. Hardly.
Think about it.