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Without Morality, America Will Collapse Armstrong Williams Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. – Niccolo Machiavelli
The world's sole superpower, the United States of America, is undoubtedly the greatest nation the world has ever known. Its belief and promotion of its citizens' right to pursue that which makes them happy has made it a destination for countless men and women from all over the world who wish to live more fulfilling lives.
The world's best and brightest have come and continue to come to America, knowing that she will give them the opportunity to compete with one another, thus allowing them to reach their individual God-given potential, which drives mankind as a whole toward its collective potential.
Such an environment would not have been possible had America ignored the moral guidance provided by her God-earing citizens. The immoral institution of slavery, which was allowed to exist even after the drafting of the Cnstitution, threatened to destroy America in spite of her great potential. Though they could not keep her from war, men and women of faith helped to ensure that righteousness prevailed.
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Likewise, it was the deep faith shared by the newly freed slaves that restrained them from acting on their indignation after the shackles were removed.
Though her Cnstitution endorses no religion or set of moral codes, people of faith have always maintained a contentious but healthy relationship with the American government, ensuring that she does not transgress moral and ethical boundaries, in hopes of keeping her from self-estruction.
As we draw closer to the midterm elections in Congress, the Republicans have been rocked by yet another scandal of corruption and misconduct,this time involving former Congressman Mark Foley and a 16-year-old male page. With less than 30 days until the election, this may be the straw the breaks the camel's back, as it comes at the end of a long string of scandals the ruling party has endured over the last two years.
Democrats are poised to win back Congress, not because they are without scandals of their own – Congressman William Jefferson's $90,000 of bribe money in a freezer being the most recent – but because the ruling party suffers the most when there is a negative view of the institution as a whole. If Democrats do regain control of Congress, we have no reason to expect any less than the same morally inept leadership they provided the 40 years they held control of the body. Forty years in which they had several sex scandals of their own, including Congressman Gerry Studds' sexual abuse of a male page.
The fact of the matter is that countless members of both parties have allowed their own selfish desires for money, power and sex to run unchecked, bringing not only shame and humiliation to themselves and the institutions in which they serve but also helping to erase the moral boundaries that ensure we are prosperous as a nation.
If our leaders refuse to hold themselves to a higher standard, then the American people must stand up and do so. As they have done since the founding of this nation, the American people must pressure their leaders to respect the moral and ethical standards that have kept this nation united and strong.
If we fail to do so, history has warned us of our fate. We need only look to the empires of the past to see the clear correlation between the loss of moral leadership and the decline of civilization. The Roman, Ottoman, Mongol, Aztec, British and countless other empires all followed this same trajectory. The war on terrorism has brought us face to face with the vestiges of the once powerful Ottoman Empire, which at one time made tremendous advancements in the sciences, arts and literature. All that remains now, however, are impoverished nations ruled by despots. Such a drastic transformation was made possible by the empire's constant transgression of moral boundaries.
The time has come for the American people to say "No more!" The scandals of both parties are an ominous sign of the weakening morality of our nation. Whoever has power on November 7 must know that the American people demand that they take seriously the roles in which they have been entrusted and that we will no longer judge them on the basis of speech and law-making abilities alone but on the basis of their moral integrity as well.
www.armstrongwilliams.com
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