I've been looking for an opening to write a blog post about society's suppression of religion, and thanks to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, I now have one. Just yesterday, the court ruled that the Mount Soledad cross war memorial in San Diego violates the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court sided with opponents who claimed that the cross conveyed a message of government endorsement of religion. They didn't order for the cross to be removed, but they returned the case to federal court in San Diego to determine whether the cross will be moved or if the memorial can be altered to conform to the Constitution. Can you imagine? Alter the cross to conform to the Constitution? When will the madness end? When will our society realize that the more we push God to the side, the worse off we'll be?
I started to develop strong convictions on this issue over seventeen years ago, when I met a very good and holy priest by the name of Monsignor James Turro. Msgr. Turro is a scholar of Sacred Scripture who has now been a Catholic priest for over 60 years. He has taught Sacred Scripture courses at several different seminaries, including Immaculate Conception (South Orange, NJ), St. Joseph's (Dunwoodie, NY), and Holy Apostles (Cromwell, CT). In 1993, Msgr. Turro gave me a signed copy of his book, Conversion: Reflections on Life and Faith. It is a collection of short reflections that came to him through many years of prayer in his vocation as a priest. The reflections are so simple, yet so profound, that they simply blow you away.
One of them in particular always stood out to me. It is titled "A Harrowing Slump," and it discusses the problems in our nation's public schools. In the reflection, Msgr. Turro outlines the top problems of public schools as identified by teachers in 1940: chewing gum, talking out of turn, making noise, running in the halls, and littering. Then he fast forwards to 1990, when the top problems identified by teachers were drug abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, and assault. On a sidenote, we can argue that the situation has deteriorated even further in these last 20 years, with several shootings and stabbings taking place in public schools throughout the country. Msgr. Turro then notes that religion was more a of a factor in American life back then. But since that time, prayer has been pushed out of public schools, and the rift between Church and state has continued to grow, causing religion to become less and less relevant. Is there a connection between the two? Is suppression of religion the main cause of the deterioration of society? It certainly seems so!
Those who dismiss this argument would say that it is merely a correlation, not an example of causality. They'd say it's purely a coincidence that society has continued to decline as religion continues to be suppressed. But is it not logical to state that the youth of the past were better instructed in faith and morals than they are today? And thus is it not logical to conclude that the lack of this instruction leads to erosion of values, which in turn leads to an increase in malicious, even violent, behavior? It sure makes sense to me.
We often hear the so-called experts blaming the rise in society's ills on the breakdown of the American family. There is truth to that statement, but those who stop there can't see the forest for the trees. You see, the breakdown of the American family is just one sub-component under the umbrella of suppression of religion. Among the values we learn through religion are respect, love, trust, faith, and perseverance. Without these qualities present, a marriage cannot last and a family will be doomed to fall apart. Many who have children don't even get married, and without that bond, the family ties become even more fragile. Sexual morality, or lack thereof, is also a major factor at play in these situations. How then can anyone argue that the decline of the American family is not related to the suppression of religion?
Over the years, we've seen many, many examples of our society continuing to push religion to the backburner. They get more ridiculous with each passing year, and there are simply too many of them to name here. But just for kicks, I'll point out a few of them. We've witnessed opposition to Nativity scenes in public places all throughout the country, often resulting in lawsuits advocating for their removal. Students in public schools have been told that they cannot wear rosary beads or religious clothing, and even had their bibles confiscated (yes, this actually happened in Houston, TX). In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 5-4, disallowed the display of The Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses. And now, as stated at the beginning of this post, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Mount Soledad cross war memorial is unconstitutional. Unreal.
To me, there is no question that we as a nation are on the wrong track when it comes to issues of faith and morals. Just look at our current president. Unlike his predecessor, he does not attend Sunday services on a regular basis, and has only made a handful of public appearances in churches with his family. He claims to be a Christian. He claims to pray with pastors over the phone. He merely states that he wants to keep his faith a private matter. But he is our leader, and as our leader he sets an example for all Americans to follow. The example he is setting right now is to keep your faith out of your public life. OK. But how? I never understood this philosophy. If your faith is truly a part of who you are, then how can you not live it every day, wherever you are and whatever you may be doing?
President Obama claims that his policies are not rooted in socialism. But every time he says this, the man insults my intelligence. I have studied philosophy extensively, and I know Marxist thought when I see it. Subversion of individual freedoms, establishment of collectivism, the contradiction between materialism and the social superstructure...all of these are tenets of Marxism. Well, it just so happens that these ideas permeate the policies that have been proposed by the Obama administration. When you look at his healthcare bill, his economic policies, and the rest of his ambitious agenda, it reeks of socialism. For me, the scariest part about it has to do with the desired result. The ultimate goal of socialism is for man to live without God. That was the foundation of Marx's philosophy. Man does not need God, and can survive without Him when the fullness of socialism has been realized. To himself, Marx was God.
So is this really the direction we're headed? Americans sent a strong message in the last election that I hope will carry over to the next one. If it does, then we can count on a more conservative government to wipe out any socialist policies enacted under the Obama administration. We can also count on them to not implement any new ones, but rather to return our country to its roots. In his inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson outlined the five principles of good government: to protect the property and earnings of citizens, to encourage entrepreneurship and free enterprise, to restrain the infliction of injury, to exercise frugality, and finally...the first and most important principle in his eyes...to acknowledge and adore God.
Is there hope at this point that our government will return to these principles? Is there hope that our government can one day again acknowledge and adore God, putting a stop to the madness that results from judicial activism on an almost daily basis? As a devout Catholic, I have to believe that there is. For St. Paul once wrote, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love." If we are to be true believers, then we must have faith that as long as there is a God, there is hope, for anyone and anything. We may not see it happen in our lifetimes, but it will happen. And when it does, American citizens will look back and say, "That's where we went wrong." When that day comes, my prayer is that our leaders never ignore the history of the suppression of religion in our great country, lest they be doomed to repeat it.
No comments:
Post a Comment