CULTURAL-VALUES: DEATH OF A VILLAGE
building for future generations
Elected officials all too often attempt to legislate societal standards instead of encouraging citizens to honor values-driven principles that have withstood the test of time. America’s Founding Fathers understood the necessity of intrinsic cultural-values. So……..on with the story.
Once upon a time a group of industrious people lived in a beautiful village that their ancestors had built with their own hands. Pioneers had invested entire lifetimes working to create a better life for their children.
There were places of equal beauty in the old world they vacated, but the villagers made their new home different by adopting rules that protected personal freedoms and provided equal opportunity. Their constitution reflected a deep faith in God, an innate distrust of institutionalized power, and a belief that freedom demanded each citizen’s investment in time and treasure.
A behavioral norm or culture evolved where neighbors helped neighbors and everybody was expected to contribute towards the maintenance of essential services. Decade by decade the village became more prosperous. Elected leaders “served” for a limited term. Terms were limited because pay was limited—folks had to return home to earn a living.
Successive generations prospered until the village became the envy of the world. Many of its inhabitants became wealthy and hired newcomers to work in their fields and factories. Immigrants poured in seeking a better way of life for their children. No free lunches were offered but everybody worked hard, they prospered, and seemed happy. Villagers expected that the good life would be passed on to future generations.
Unfortunately, affluence conditioned villagers to forget that their success had come from strict adherence to principles spelled out in their constitution. They spurned the notion that God-centered values had provided their ancestors access to a source of timeless wisdom.
Owners and workers kept themselves busy enjoying fruits inherited from the labor of past generations. They stopped honoring the village’s cultural foundation of accepting personal responsibility. Once neighbors turned the responsibility of supporting the less fortunate over to the government, neighbors stopped supporting each other and civility started breaking down.
Leaders bent rules to accommodate their personal perspective of justice—even adding new laws to support their views—in spite of an oath each had taken to defend the village’s constitution.
Eventually, opportunists discovered that profits could be extracted by pitting neighbor against neighbor. They began misrepresenting facts to advance their own causes. Elected positions became an easy route to prosperity, so a new “talking class” formed.
Elected to serve the people, they spent most of their time collaborating with special interest groups, collecting money to help them get reelected. The talking class quietly but effectively assumed control over the lives of villagers who at one time, had been fiercely self-sufficient.
Business owners and workers, preoccupied with making a living, didn’t pay much attention to the fact that elected officials were feathering their own nest. An ever increasing amount of money was required to support the burgeoning bureaucracy—taxes increased every year. Services once provided charitably by neighbors, were now controlled by the government. A growing sense of entitlement dampened the village’s work ethic.
Cultural values were ignored as citizens grew more and more dependent—not comprehending that handouts they were receiving came from their own pockets. Expenses gradually outgrew the tax base so the government started borrowing money—the once prosperous village fell deeply into debt.
Once the villagers lost control of their money, the talking class appointed themselves village masters rather than public servants. They continued voting themselves exorbitant salaries, expensive pensions, and medical plans that villagers could not afford.
Residents lost their pride in a once beautiful village. Crime increased in direct correlation to a decline in civility. Although many citizens complained about the size and power of government, few were willing to run for public office. As villagers lost respect for themselves and the rights of neighbors, a litigation industry boomed.
A group of concerned villagers tried to get the public school system to teach their children the village’s history and founding principles. But fearing a loss of power, the talking class created laws to prevent them from doing so. Eventually, people were not allowed to discuss the faith of their founding fathers in public places.
Fewer and fewer people honored the village’s constitution—most weren’t even aware that there was one, let alone know what it proclaimed. No longer influenced by village values, officials tried to maintain civil order by being tough on crime. Prisons were filled to overflowing. In the process of getting tough, the government was unintentionally limiting the rights and freedoms of law abiding villagers.
A once prosperous village ended up on an economic life support system—but the talking class and their minions continued living happily ever after.