Making the Right Decisions

It seems that people’s sense of right and wrong has changed since the republicans took control in the 80’s. Or maybe that’s how they got control?

It used to be, we were encouraged to believe, what was good for us as a whole, took precedent over what was good for us personally if there was a conflict. When it came time to vote, you had a higher duty than your own self interest and voted accordingly.

Of course there was always the greedy and self-centered who would never take a stand for something unless they stood to gain from it. But our society would point those people out and look down on them. They weren’t even considered “Good Americans”.

Principles, ideas and morals meant a lot in our society, as a whole. Not just, morals against sex and other things. But morals and principles of decency and the value of each and every person. The idea that everyone had redeeming qualities was not considered bad. Churches preached the doctrine of fairness and the good of the whole, as opposed the few. The welfare of the poor and disadvantaged was a moral protected by a lot of church’s doctrine. Even though people may have acted to the contrary, it was frowned upon. Outside of religion you could still count on the principles of decency.

Yes, in most places, blacks and other minorities were often left out of the equation. But the black community took the very morals and religions we held dear and demonstrated how it meant them too, back in the 60’s. Thanks to preachers like Dr, Martin King, who pointed out the word of God and how it applied to all, we were ushered into the civil rights era. This spoke to the conscience of America’s white population. Even though some had lived their whole life thinking blacks were inferior, many found they could not argue with their own religious up bringing. These whites became what is now known as Liberal Christians, the others split off and began to create what is now the “religious right”

Since the days of Ronald Reagan, it has become socially correct in the republican party to be against equal rights as long as you could cloak it in a less confrontational package, like “Affirmative Action is bad for Minorities” . But even deeper than that, the American culture became more and more self-centered, to the point “Greed Is Good” became as popular phrase.

The human creature, like any animal has survival instincts, which constantly strain our attempts to be civilized. But one thing that is supposed to make us different from animals, is we have the ability to put our selfish desires aside in order to save others and develop a civil society.  This is the lost part of our culture. One we have turned out backs on as a Nation.

When you make a decision about how we are to govern our selves, when you go to vote or take a stand on the issues, what is the driving force that moves you?

What is best for you, and yours? What is best for us as a country? Or what is best for those less fortunate than you? Or is it just what you want to happen to people you dislike? These type things are what really determines our worth as a society.