I, Pandora

America is hardly the first nor the last nation to be gripped by socialism. I say this as a matter of fact and in a manner that should not be alarming, because while America is unique in all of history we can’t be so naive to believe it is immune to degradation and failure? No, America is not immune because nothing is free of sin and that which follows in its wake, death. America over the past hundred years and predominantly the last sixty has slowly become more socialistic. I believe taking a look back in history and observing other great nations in history will aid in helping us prevent the failure of another great nation.

I observe the historical empires such as Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Ottoman Empire and all fundamentally fell due to a lack of morality. Morality prevents death, disease and upholds life and produces national vitality as it brings the people together under a common banner. There’s still tension in the nation, but moral anarchy is even more damaging. Just as gravity and thermodynamics are true today and tomorrow, for the workings of mankind morality is equally especial and true.

The moral fiber first breaks down with the rejection of God or an object of worship which is similar to God and secondly the rejection of the family (via abortion, divorces, illegitimate pregnancies, polygamy, pornography, homosexuality). The break down of these two slowly lead to disunity, more sin, unrest and inevitable civil war. I believe the Roman Empire is a very good example because its failure began first within via the worship of Caesar, the peoples’ moral degeneracy and civil wars which allowed the Germanic tribes to easily conquer and ruin the Roman Empire. Another historical power is that of the nation of Israel and its rise and fall is detailed very well in the Bible. Under obedience to God Israel grew and became a regional power under King David and Solomon. However, with the disregard for God by David and Solomon and the people Israel fell under the heel of other pagan nations.

Considering history I must now take a hard look at America and ask the question of whether or not we as a nation are on the path towards becoming another statistic. Now I’ve titled this writing, “Sinning Into Socialism” because an indicator of sin in a nation is directly proportional to socialism in a nation; and vise versa. I generally define socialism as the centralization of the individual’s or families’ responsibilities and power into the State government, due to the individual and family abdicating responsibilities. Now I say sin and socialism are directly proportional, in that order, because sin abdicates responsibility and power and produces a void that the State is often more than happy to fill; thus the centralization of responsibility and power. This filling of the void is also necessary as a last resort to restore relative order. One living example of socialism would be public school.

Public school is not the natural means of education, because before there was ever a State or central school children were raised by their parents into a trade or skill. For thousands of years parents have been raising and educating their children without the help of that State. I’m not saying there were never higher levels of learning like colleges and scholastic programs but that children were first taught by their parents and eventually financed onto higher learning.

In public school from the ages of 4 to 5 years unto age 18 or 19 years (~15 years) parents give up all of their responsibilities in managing the time, money and curriculum in order to educate their children, rather these are given to the State to manage. But the State does not generate wealth of its own and has to tax indiscriminately, so whether you are retired or have no children you are taxed to send children to public school. Curriculum wise the State is allowed to determine what is taught in the classroom which logically is a conflict of interest as hopefully you’d see that the State can teach exactly what will perpetuate the State’s agenda and power. While American government is a constitutional republic and in theory is to represent the people, this belief is based on the assumption that the people will be an active role within the government via voting and petitioning but when none of this happens the State becomes an entity of its own without accountability and thus more power. And the more people abdicate their responsibilities and power the more power the State will receive.

Other examples of the State filling the void of responsibility which the people should be caring for such as, social security, welfare and Medicare. Now what happens when even the states within America abdicate their responsibilities? Naturally the Federal governing body which is even more detached from the people gains power and leads to Statism. Often I hear people bemoaning the fact that public schools are not safe or the students are not getting a good education, or I hear Medicare drugs are to expensive, or I hear the question, “What is the president going to do about it,” and at the same time I hear the chains of the masses sounding. Such statements and questions imply the State and Federal government has the responsibility and power. The people have set themselves in debt to the State and thus bondage.

Now I realize I have implicily jumped over making an argument against socialism or in more general words, relying on the state to fulfill certain needs. As socialism is defined and in practice the power is centralized in fewer people in the body called the State. As history has shown the more power fewer have, the more corrupt they become because there’s no accountability. This is exactly the case for socialism, communism, totalitarianism, fascism, etc. “Absolute power, corrupts man absolutely,” as the phrase goes. Thus the more power that can be spread out over the people, assuming the people willingly take on the responsibilities, the better the health of a nation. All the empires I had listed above didn’t begin as a totalitarian government, but rather the people had more power, and it was over time that the State became absolute. So in short we all must rely on ourselves and call ourselves to be good stewards first because we are the foundation for our society.

Going back to the Garden of Eden we can see the action of Adam and Eve abdicating their responsibility and power to Satan by rejecting God and his commandment and also his blessings. After that moment where did God find Adam and Eve, in the garden hiding (abdicating) their responsibilities and thus began the story of man’s bondage. However, I have not only written this to point out the problem, but also to point out the answer.

The answer is simple! People must take responsibility for themselves and their families. People must take back what they have given up to the State whom they have come indebt to. I don’t call for radical revolutions which would honestly cause more harm to America, but slow generation by generation taking back what is rightfully ours. First we must submit ourselves to God and his revealed word in the Bible. Our attitude and worldview must be centered on God and we must stop being the judge of God and the following steps will naturally fall into place. Secondly we must take back the family which is the cornerstone to all of life and civilizations. One man and one woman is marriage and they are commissioned by God to have children in their means and to raise them in the Lord which means to be a self reliant, contributing citizen. Thirdly the Church must stop dividing over pointless doctrines and pride. Forth would be to be a productive person in the State and Federal government to ensure the people are protected from evil acts.

I realize though that no one is perfect and I can say this especially of Christians. Knowing right and wrong and not living in ignorance of Jesus Christ is not easier, it is in fact harder. It’s harder because it’s taking back responsibility for us and our families and I think that is why Christians have such a hard time. We set ourselves in a place where we can easily be called hypocrites and failures, but it is still better than living in ignorance. To deny the one true God and deny one’s calling is easy and I see many people do it. I don’t expect a revolution over night, but rather a generational progress to taking back dominion and being better stewards.

It would, however, be not wise to rapidly abolish all socialism in America because many would be left destitute and unable to care for themselves or their families. For example, removing public school would ruin families dependent on two incomes or even a single parent. They would not be able to run the home and care for their children’s education and furthermore, the state and federal government wouldn’t remove the tax used to pay for public education. Therefore, it’s a slow step by step process first beginning with the man and woman of a family making the decisions to build a family based around a single income and or income from home and then preparing the home for educating their children. Also it requires these families to rightfully vote down bonds and additional taxes for funding public school as the family is now taking on the responsibilities and costs.

I’d like to note that I am NOT talking about instituting a theocracy or any religious state. I am actually a proponent of the complete opposite, I am calling for the many, the people, to take back upon themselves their own responsibilities that they were born into and that they have chosen. This is quite close to what our Founding Fathers created and intended. Once the people take back their power the State or any other institution will fall into its proper place. This is the price of freedom, it isn’t easy and it never will be. The very nature of man calls him to be in bondage and to break free of that is daily work.

In conclusion, only the straight and narrow path of scripture is the means to any hope for America. Not socialism, post-modernism, humanism, communism, statism, relativism, nihilism, etc. I always relate morality and truth to that of the laws which are observed and govern the universe. If the universe is governed by such strict laws, how can we believe that mankind can be governed by anymore than one law? Morality is not relative and it is not us who determines it. The revolution begins with the individual and the family. If America can take this to heart and slowly remove sin within and without, there will be hope. Otherwise this great nation will come and go as all have! This is not speculation or opinion, the wages of sin is DEATH, death of self, families, and state; nothing is free of the wages of sin. The pyramid of civilization begins with the foundation of the people and if the foundation is weak and crumbling the pyramid will fall. For the sake of my family I hope we all can make wiser choices in the years and generations to come.