Recently the following objection was raised to me*:
The societal degradation of a culture is what ultimately will destroy it. Arnold Joseph Toynbee chronicled that in 26 great ancient civilizations, there was a pattern of moral decay before the society was destroyed. Therefore, in order to preserve this society, we should put up levees against the in rushing tide of immorality. Changing laws to fit the moral climate will only beget more immorality. As an example in recent history, look at the welfare state. The reason we have so much need for social welfare is because of institutions like divorce. Because of this we now have more broken families that require government assistance, which is causing economic turmoil.
Now I’m not even going to try to argue against this. I’m going to agree with it for the sake of argument. I could argue against it, and I may in future posts, but I want to talk about something else first. I need to take this opportunity to discuss a bit of why Libertarianism is so important to me.
Let’s accept this objection. Let’s say that this societal decay will be devastating to our nation, and that relaxing a law like gay marriage will contribute to the downfall of our society.
Even if that is so, it is one small step in a much larger journey that has been gradually progressing for over a century and will continue to progress whether we budge on this issue or not. If this pattern of societal degradation is to destroy this nation, it will not happen until well into the future.
Meanwhile, there are much more urgent problems that threaten to undo this nation as soon as possibly within the decade. The very foundation of our nation as a land of the free and home of the brave is being pulled out from under us like a rug. The NDAA’s Indefinite Detention of US Citizens without due process (http://reason.com/archives/2012/02/28/indefinite-detention), The Patriot Act and the TSA have effectively erased the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments. SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and other measures are threatening to erase the First Amendment. The Tenth Amendment has been dead for a long time, but it is being further slaughtered by the DEA’s treatment of Colorado and Washington’s recent legalization of marijuana. The Second Amendment is under constant attack.
And the coup de grace is that recently Eric Holder confirmed (http://reason.com/blog/2013/03/05/eric-holder-yes-your-government-can-dron) that the US Government has the power and authority to assassinate US Citizens on US Soil with Drones without due process! The police state is already here!
Add to that the economic turmoil that is spurred onward by a central banking system that manipulates the currency for the sole purpose of allowing the government to do as they please.
Add to that the fact that our politicians are hell bent on having no other outcome than war with Iran in our foreign policy. Their foreign policy is like trying to get rid of a bee hive by whacking it with a stick. The point on Iran is always that they will get a nuke, but they never stop to think why they might want one. Perhaps it’s because the only country to ever have used one keeps antagonizing them! If we keep on this road, we are assured to have blowback!
If these forces are not culled and quickly, then there will be no more society to be degraded or defended.
And here’s the real rub. Two issues, homosexuality and abortion, are exalted to the point of being the sole issues that Christians seem to care about, and they exert no further discernment in their choosing of political candidates than to expect them to give a satisfactory answer to these two issues. Meanwhile, they are a distraction from the real problems that are rotting the core of this country. The Republican party cares not a lick for what is really wrong with this country. Has it ever occurred to us that politicians know exactly what to say in order to get our votes? Whenever a Republican claims to be pro life or pro family, I dismiss it as pandering. The Republican party is simply the Red Version of the Statist Party. Don’t believe me? Who passed the Patriot Act? Who unleashed the TSA?
It is not my goal to sow discord or to cause strife or division, but merely to call my Christian brethren to open their eyes to the real things going on and to have better discernment. I urge you to do what I did in this last election. I supported Gary Johnson even though he is pro choice. It’s not because I’m compromising on my principles. It’s because we can have that discussion later. We can solve that problem once we get our raging debt under control and end the fed. We can tackle that issue once we stop our meddling in affairs overseas and secure our borders here. We can discuss the legality of abortion after we’ve re-established the rule of law and due process. Once those things are under control, we can talk about morality.
And we must do these things or there will be no country left to have these discussions in!
* The objection as presented here is a synthesis of the same fundamental objection that was made to me by two different people. Nobody ever said this to me verbatim.
Truth & Liberty 