Student opinion – Pride has infiltrated American politics
Abraham Lincoln once said that if the downfall of America were to happen, “ … it must spring up amongst us … we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
As President Joe Biden’s term nears the end of its second year, the continued pains of changing culture and society grow uncontrollably. The current culture in the U.S. compared to that of even a century ago shows how our values, traditions, policy and general beliefs have changed for the worse. Through a combination of overzealous party allegiance, increased secularism and repetitive adverse legislation, the culture of the U.S. has lost sight of its biblical heritage.
While this may be an unpopular opinion for some, America demonstrates this harm to itself every day. George Washington, a genius in the world of politics and leadership, held no political agenda regarding the creation of government parties. He warned the people that if they fell in love with a political party, the love they had for agreement among themselves would mean the division of a united nation.
Of course, this age is vastly different from Washington’s day, but the important principle of having respect for the country and an open mind still stands. It’s common to engage in discussions that quickly turn into emotional debates about economic or foreign policy. There’s always one side or the other, one policy that’s right and one policy that’s wrong, or one party that is faultless and one that causes every mistake. This is the situation the U.S. finds itself in.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan recognized the direction the U.S. was heading. Reagan urged the U.S. to stay away from secular views and division in his “Evil Empire” speech. Religion is necessary for people to keep their worldviews steadfast.
Without conviction based in God, political views on gun control are in vain. Focused on abortion, Reagan targeted views that lack religious foundation and warned the U.S. that this line of thinking would lead to an
unrecognizable country.
Americans should be against abortion. They should be against big government. They should be against the silencing of religious influences. The U.S. needs to foster a culture that places value on knowledge and devotion to religion. By taking this step, convictions about good policy and national unity will become reality.
Party alliances and secularism have major impacts on culture, but as far as the country is concerned, useless legislation is proposed through Congress all the time. Through the administrations of presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama, the same type of big government economic policy has been introduced through this past century.
Policy that emphasizes the people’s reliance on government, whether it be through a massive increase of government jobs, a new welfare system or more abortion clinics, damages the economy and creates a wealth held in chains as opposed to a free capitalist environment. This type of policy simply needs to be left behind because it doesn’t work. The fewer hands the government has on the economy, the better things are.
During Reagan’s administration, the country witnessed the return of economic prosperity, even considering rising problems during the Cold War. Reagan’s policy was to essentially pry the government’s hands off the lives of Americans.
As Republicans and Democrats alike study the state of a falling nation, clear solutions lie ready to be utilized. It’s about time we forfeit the pride of winning an argument, forgetting religious traditions and repeating a political cycle of policies that just don’t work. It’s time the people pursue what America has borne witness to in the past — a truly unified nation that looks to the future — and not the present cycle of proud politics we’ve found ourselves in.
DuVall is an opinion writer for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter