While sorting through my e-mail the other a day, I came across a message from a good friend of mine that included this quotation from Josef Stalin: "America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."
Simply stated, I was shocked when I read this statement from America's former foremost enemy. I could not help but try to make it apply to what we are experiencing today. It seems as if not a day passes in which patriotism, morality and spirituality are being assailed - and you do not have to look any further than this very newspaper to find evidence of such attacks.
After thinking over the quote some more, I was distressed to find that our enemies understand the nature of Americans and the nature of America better than we do. They know that if they can break down the things that our forefathers once fought for, then they can succeed in winning the fight against us. However, if our enemies know that these three things are the bases that hold up our republic, why do we play such an active role in undermining each of them?
For instance, our beliefs and thoughts on patriotism have changed drastically from what they once were when the Sons of Liberty fought for their freedom. These men truly understood what it meant to love the ideals of a country - they were willing to put their selfish desires on the side and fight for their unalienable rights. Today, everyone wants to be labeled a patriot, but there are few among us. You can get caught up in saying that patriotism can be best exemplified by people who question their government and activities of those sorts, but when it comes down to it, a patriot can simply be defined as one who would rather die than give up his or her freedom, period. Nothing else matters but this, and I am sad to say that I know few people who would be willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Just the other day I was speaking with a friend of mine that said he would only fight in a war that he agreed with, even if his country needed him. This is not patriotism in the least, and sadly, I think that it is the consensus opinion.
In addition, America's morality, especially in the last 10 years, is being attacked at unprecedented levels. Just look at Hollywood and the difference between the moral quality of the films being produced now compared to 50 years ago. You can distinguish a stark difference in the morals of that time - and it is not a progression, as some would think. Rather, films today reflect that our morals as a country are regressing. In our own culture we see that the individual human being is desecrated time and again by people who attempt to play God with the human race. The institution of marriage is constantly being challenged by people wanting to extend its bounds beyond what God intended, and women are degraded by the proliferation of porn which has reached new levels of accessibility.
Lastly, the spiritual life of Americans has changed, thanks to individuals who are attempting to rid the country of any reference to God or Christ. The issue of allowing prayer in public schools has been a constant battle for the Legislature, and courts have taken the 10 commandments down from display. They have also replaced "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" because America is so focused on appeasing even the smallest of minority opinions. Christianity is under constant attack by its detractors, but Christians are not allowed to respond to their criticisms lest they be labeled insensitive. Any outspoken Christian is tagged as ignorant or close-minded because they believe in the inherency of the Bible and nothing else.
We as Americans are in grave danger, not because of any foreign power but because of our own decisions. However, because we are the cause of the degradation of what is essentially American (as defined by Stalin), we can help prevent the internal collapse by upholding the virtues and beliefs of the past. We must fight against the popular movements in our culture that work against these values, and we must work together to build up the patriotism, morality and spirituality which were once hailed by our forefathers.
Can America fall? Only if we as Americans allow it to.
Earnest is an economics freshman.
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