If it wasn’t so disturbing, it would be funny.
The American people have spoken! Donald Trump and, barring an indictment, Hillary Clinton, will be the two parties’ candidates for president of the United States. Yet the same electorate which chose them gives Mrs. Clinton lower favorability ratings than any major presidential candidate in history… except for Donald Trump. Groucho Marx once quipped: “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” It’s as if the voters are saying, “We disapprove of any candidate that we ourselves would choose.”
What happened?
In 1920 Winston Churchill wrote:
“We owe to the Jews in the Christian revelation a system of ethics which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all other wisdom and learning put together. On that system and by that faith there has been built out of the wreck of the Roman Empire the whole of our existing civilization.”
Churchill was saying that the viability, the vitality, and the achievements of Western Civilization have, as their cornerstone, the Judeo-Christian ethical system which is founded on the moral principles of the Bible.
Over the last 50 years there has been a steady erosion of this foundation.
Consider the Ten Commandments, one of mankind’s most seminal definitions of human morality:
The First and Second Commandments are about believing in God. A recent Pew Report bears out that the U.S. Public is becoming less religious, especially millennials.
The Fourth Commandment calls for a Day of Rest to commemorate that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Traditionally, this commandment was observed by families spending quality time together, with God mentioned in homes and in prayer houses. While many still do the same, it is less prevalent.
The Fifth Commandment is about honoring one’s parents. This was a lot easier when multiple generations of the same family tended to live near each other in “the old neighborhood.” Modern jobs now force many to move away from their immediate family. There is a lot of divorce in America, and many of today’s young parents will never marry. In many of these decimated family units, parents do not raise their children and children as a result don’t respect their parents.
The Sixth Commandment forbids murder. Society now often allows the killing of fetuses that would be perfectly viable if removed by C-section. Many other aborted fetuses would have survived as well if allowed to remain in the womb for just weeks longer.
The Seventh Commandment forbids adultery. While many were always guilty of this sin, its stigma has lessened. Years back, Donald Trump wrote a book in which he graphically described the feelings of ecstasy he experienced when cheating on his first wife. No one seems to mind.
The Eighth Commandment forbids stealing. It was always accepted that Peter could not steal from Paul in order to give charity to a third person. Yet, the U.S. government forcibly taxes an unwilling public and then spends more than half its budget on entitlements.
The Ninth Commandment forbids bearing false witness. When people in public positions brazenly lie to the public, it doesn’t seem to be a disqualification – even when they are presidential candidates.
The Tenth Commandment forbids envy. Those who wish to avoid jealousy try to not to focus on what others do and what others have. They themselves will be discreet to avoid being the subject of envy. Social media has created an environment where many rush to publicize everything possible about themselves.
What has happened in the current election is that a society that, as a group, strayed from traditional Judeo-Christian morality in so many different ways expressed itself in the choice of these two candidates. We got what we deserve. We got what we are.
Hopefully, the American public will somehow be inspired to reconnect to their traditional values. Should that happen, what we are and who we therefore elect will be very different.