I still believe "The Good News Network" would be a hit. Everything else is covered by the media except everyday people who do good things under the radar because that's what they choose to do. Let's hear more about noncontroversial people who are wildly successful. Let's hear more about teams who never win any tournaments but serve the greater good. Let's hear more about workplaces that don't need unions, outside interference, arbitrators, lawyers, government control, etc. Let's hear more about people who never had to go into some kind of self improvement/self help program because they made good decisions and never got addicted to anything. Let's hear more about people who sacrificially serve others without thought of reward. Most would say, "...but that wouldn't sell". I say, "We don't really know and there is only one way to find out."
Having been retired for more than three years has enabled me to read, study and reflect, as well as reminisce, and I've come to some stark conclusions. In retrospect I'm embarrassed to say that the most interesting and fun decade of the 60's was also the era that affected the USA through even more negative shock waves than positive. These disasters continue to shape our culture into the ugly mess it has become.
The idea that we could do away with poverty has made the poor poorer and the rich richer. Now the middle class is shrinking while the rich and poor increase so rapidly that we are threatened with a two class society. The middle class will not be able to subsidize the top and bottom, as has been the case for a couple hundred years. The idea that we could police the world has led to death, destruction, suffering, hate and extremism. It would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago that our only alternative would be to circle up the wagons and become an isolationist nation. But what choice do we have given the fact that we're broke and we no longer have the will to sacrifice blood, sweat and tears for strangers who not only do not appreciate our efforts but hate us for them? The idea that government could give every American (and everyone who could find a way to get here) the "American Dream" of complete security from cradle to grave is what bankrupted us and will ultimately be our downfall. It's not just a 17 trillion dollar debt we're looking at, but more like a 100 trillion dollars of unfunded liability, promises that we've made that we cannot possibly fulfill. The idea that the "rich and famous" are somehow more important, smarter, better, and have the secret to the good life has bankrupted us in a more insidious way. The "cult of personality" has infested our culture to the point of making babbling idiots of millions of our citizens. Unable to think for themselves, they parrot what some "spokesperson" has said and look to TV and internet "personalities" for their talking points. The idea that God is dead or non-existent or irrelevant or something less than He really is has lead us to think that we are supreme and we can do anything we put our minds to do. When to achieve the only things that really matter what we need to do is depend completely on God and trust and believe that He has our best interests at heart. If we only knew how much He really loves us, we would be ashamed and embarrassed at our self-centered lives of "I, me, mine". |
Ray Bishop
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November 2018
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