AMERICA ADRIFT RIGHTING THE COURSE

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Acknowledgment........................................................viiIntroduction..........................................................ixChapter 1: What Happened to American Values...........................1Chapter 2: The Origin of Values.......................................53Chapter 3: Improving Values and Their Application.....................74Chapter 4: The Golden Rule of Values..................................122Notes.................................................................165

Chapter One

Our nation—once proud, prosperous, and leading the world—is in trouble. Many of the values which made America respected and envied, such as honesty, trust, accountability, commitment, self-determination, hard work, and moderation, are in decline. As a consequence, family stability, personal health and accountability, community responsibility, educational performance, sustainable government, business practices, and church involvement are often failing and unacceptable. It is imperative we turn this around.

There is significant effort by business and government; our educational, religious, and community structures; the many charitable social service organizations; and the millions of individual volunteer hours and dollars to right this course. This has lessened the slope of this decline but not turned the tide.

The only hope I see to assure our country's promise for those who follow is through the collective power of Americans who love their country, will help preserve its dream for the future, have sound and positive values, and have a reasonably effective, contributing, and loving life. To accomplish this, the seriousness of the problems created by this decline need understanding and acceptance. That is chapter 1. Then, it is necessary we know what values are, where they come from, and how they guide our lives. That is chapter 2. With that clear, we can explore our values and beliefs and make sure they are on the right path. That is chapter 3. Finally, we can take action—increase our willingness to share our values and positive life experiences with those individuals, families, communities, and societal organizations that are in need of help with values and results. That is chapter 4.

Marshaling the amount of human power this will take requires leadership. That must come from America's great leaders from all segments of society. Through the values of our business and professional leaders must come the motivation, opportunities and structure for their employees to get involved. From religious leaders must come the dedication of their great moral principles to this cause and a structuring within their congregations to make it happen. From educational leaders must come a clear understanding of best practices and the values behind them and then involve teachers, students, and parents to make that happen. From governmental leaders must come long-term policies and laws that will sustain our great values in programs, projects, and practices applied by all who work at federal, state, and local levels. From community and local service organization leaders must come better ways to organize and relate their activities and members so as to significantly increase the overall worth and structure of their communities.

That kind of leadership will build a power base to see that sound values guide the decisions that determine the long-term viability and future of all segments of our society. This book is written for those leaders and the "silent values majority" that will get the job done.

Values are the basic beliefs, principles, and concepts that guide and drive our decision making, behavior, and relationships with others. In a free and democratic society, the values held collectively by individuals and families shape those values that guide the nation and its government, business and civic organizations, religious structure, education system, community activities, and the like. Thus, it is the collective responsibility of our citizens to see that sound and positive values are reviewed and upheld, better applied, and thoughtfully reinterpreted over time as new changes prevail. A value like honesty is eternal and must be carefully and positively interpreted in a changing world. A value like equality, which has been misapplied in the past, must be applied equally to all citizens in regard to policies, practices, and the law. As new lifestyles about marriage and the family, the right to life, the right to organize, and the like emerge, they should be tested against their impact on sound ethics and the long-term consequences to our society. Throughout this book, the words virtues, principles, beliefs, code of behavior, and ethical standards are used interchangeably with values.

I might choose different words to express the following quote. You might also, and you may disagree with some of his conclusions. You may feel a prayer is no way to open this chapter. But his points, viewed from an overall perspective, support my thesis for this chapter and this book.

When Joe Wright, pastor of the Central Christian Church in Wichita, was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with prayer, everyone expected the usual generalities, but this is an excerpt of what they heard:

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

To be fair, the application of some of our great, national basic beliefs has improved. We have done much to improve our value regarding equality. We have improved the position and quality of life for minorities and the role of women at work and in leadership. We are making good strides in applying values to protect and improve our long-term environment—the "greening" of America (and the world).

However, the great majority of the people I talk with feel quite strongly that many of the values or beliefs which made America the greatest free nation in the world are in significant decline or have been compromised—trust, honesty, loyalty, hard work, self-determination, pride, and the like. Not everyone I share ideas with feels that way, including some of my children. They are among the family-oriented, hardworking, and productive adults in the fifty-plus age bracket and in the prime of life. They feel basic values have always adapted to fit decisions and positions of the times. But many in that group also recognize that some of those value changes have produced outcomes that need improving in such areas as politics, education, and business, as well as community, family, and health care.

I am quite sure that many teens and younger adults, without the perspective of time and experience, feel that...