Sarah has posted something of interest at trying to grok. She is comparing the essence of the book Dark Star Safari to the situation in Iraq. The question posed is whether we can change a culture, or even want to.
Setting up the conditions for people to be free won’t work if the people don’t yearn for freedom. Similarly, setting up the conditions for progress won’t work if people can’t see the big picture.
I’ve pondered the same question.
I guess this is the factor in politics that interests me. I don’t like the political process. I don’t care much for career politicians. But the political process has absorbed much of what is our society and culture. Or, our culture and society have surrendered. The latter is far more likely. Too many people want the government involved in some small thing, and that expands daily once the government has its foot in the door.
I want to see our society and our culture separate from politics. That is the libertarian in me. I had a long discussion with a friend yesterday about the place of the Boy Scouts in this country. They are being shoved aside by people like the ACLU who see their reverence as a threat to the government.
But reverence is a sense of calm and acceptance of moral standards. It doesn’t have to be on-the-knees worship of a deity. Those values must exist in some form. My friend was adamant that the government could not force people to be subjected to any religious thought. I asked him what the Constitution said. “Well, it says no religion is allowed.” I asked him to quote it. He couldn’t, so I did. He walked away a little stunned.
And this is a man whose son is an Eagle Scout, and sees the value in scouting. Where has our culture gone in two generations?
The help-yourself mentality is losing ground in our society. Boy Scouts used to do all kinds of community projects. No longer allowed in many places. Might be a “separation of church and state” issue. Funny how people can quote this phrase written by Thomas Jefferson, yet ignore things like his words at the top of my site. Same man. Same sentiment. Misinterpreted.
Are we ready to be like the countries in Africa?