Recently Martin Kelly wrote an article entitled “The Death of Shame” in which he claims our moral decline comes from the death of shame. And, interestingly, Bill O’Reilly soon followed with his own spew that the loss of shame is negatively shaping America. It’s not that simple.
Yes, virtuous shame is dwindling-- I will guarantee you there were no braggart bumper stickers in 1960 that -shamelessly- announced, “My child made the honor roll at ... .” But the loss of virtuous shame is a by-product; one of many by-products of the loss of humility brought on by progressive statists..
The seven deadly sins are growing in popularity: PRIDE, magnified by LUST and ENVY for everything that satisfies our growing GREED, fueled by GLUTTONY, made more desirous by our ANGER for not “keeping up with the Joneses” has shamed us into losing our humility. We are much more than (perceivably) a country without Christian roots; we are a country specifically in the midst of turning our backs on our founding principles—a very different psychological/socio condition. And in our need to ignore the related shame, we are evolving into materialistic and bombastic relative individualists with the knack (desire?) for ignoring the obvious. As our faith declines, due to the constant bombardment from progressives, we are becoming ashamed of our shame. Faith, hope, and charity abate.
We exhibit loads of shame: We must not be seen without our makeup, or WITH our hair combed. We must not be seen holding a Bible or suggestively praying in public. We are regularly shamed into not speaking out against homosexuality for fear of being labeled intolerant and homophobic. We suffer from all kinds of image problems due to shame over excessive body fat, being too short, too tall, too thin – our society is full of shame, but shame’s roots have changed its orientation from a spiritual to a physical foundation.
Neither is it the loss of shame that misdirects our compassion. A Cardinal recently was heard stating that he has a “sense of compassion” for Saddam Hussein; based on the humiliating photos of Hussein with matted hair while having to submit to a physical. Compassion, for a dictator who use to slide human beings down the shoot of a giant plastic shredder? Compassion, for one who murders his political detractors? Compassion for an exterminator and a philanderer? Tis my guess this Cardinal has a head full of book learning and a heart totally lacking in real-world experience; an all too often recipe for progressive, secular, intellectual leadership. The recent images of Saddam provoked loads of shamefulness from the Islamic world; shame is in our face everywhere. But instead of fixing it at its core, we are redirecting it and finding ways to justify immoral desires and actions.
What is waning is THAT which gave us DIRECTION for our compassion and our shame; we are losing touch with our Western Instruction Manual: biblical principles. What we are losing is that line in the sand, the one we use to know what line should not be crossed. Once the majority chooses to no longer serve God, they shall serve Man; serfdom renewed, and shame redefined.
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Roger Givens sent me an email asking me what I thought about the adoption of the Bill of Rights and how Madison and Henry would thin about it today. My response was:
As I am sure you know, our founders were well versed in the common law, and I am not aware of a single one that would admit they had a significant problem with Natural Law theory. There were some, like John Adams, who worried (like some today) that the Natural Law was a small step into the rule of men (to be later named by Lennin as “The Rule of Man”). But with the Founder’s creation of federalism, and with a well-understood foundation in Natural Law that includes the concept of Sovereignty, the Natural Law is today our potential political savior. I am sure both Madison and Henry would agree.
Further, both would also agree that original intent of the Bill of Rights was proposed and accepted as a list of already existing individual rights though not inclusive of all rights, giving rise to the 9th and 10th Amendments.
At his core, Madison was an Anti-Federalist. But he was a practical man as well and he knew the new country needed a singular authority to bring the states together for things like a standing army. To meet the needs of the time (LOADED WORDS!), Madison participated in the writings of the Federalist Papers because of his practical side. And this seemingly conflicting issue turned out to be a blessing as his skeptical nature of singular authority ended up giving us a wealth of tools to describe the need for limited government.
Patrick Henry, on the other hand, didn’t “give a damn” (to express his nature!) about diplomacy and the nature of politics. He personified Franklin’s words, “Those willing to give up a little liberty for a little security deserve neither.” I can imagine today Henry privately calling Madison a wimp, but with full knowledge of today’s events, he would publicly understand what Madison did was forward-thinking and commendable.
With that said, the better man to use as an anti-federalist rep would be Richard Henry Lee* who would today call Madison a turn-coat!
In my opinion, the Founders screwed up by adding a Bill of Rights and by not officially attaching the Declaration of Independence as the Preamble. I do argue that the current Preamble is in fact the shortest version possible of our Declaration. But shortness is apparently the problem as the words of the Preamble are ignored and/or misunderstood due to the use of modern definitions rather than using original meaning. I think a close look at the modifiers like “establish” and “insure,” and “provide,” and “promote,” and “general,” and “secure” would bring a patriot in line with the meaning (intent) of our Declaration.
In summary, if Madison and Henry were flies on the wall’s of Congress, Henry would be forced to admit Madison was a pretty smart cookie. But, don’t get me started! If I were a little smarter and a little richer I would write a book on this subject.
*Richard Henry Lee, as found in The Federal Farmer: "A militia when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves, and render regular troops in great measure unnecessary. The powers to form and arm the militia, to appoint their officers, and to command their services, are very important; nor ought they in a confederated republic to be lodged, solely, in any one member of the government. First, the constitution ought to secure a genuine [ ] and guard against a select militia, by providing that the militia shall always be kept well organized, armed, and disciplined, and include, according to the past and general usage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms; and that all regulations tending to render this general militia ― useless and defenceless, by establishing select corps of militia, or distinct bodies of military men, not having permanent interests and attachments in the community is to be avoided. …To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…."
I don’t think Lee was a great forward thinker. But his understanding of human nature made him filled with Truth, and truth then is truth for all time.
I am a fish out of water wandering in the lustful darkness of incompetent cybrespace- BUT I have a message for the defenders of freedom and liberty... Evil cannot triumph. The fight will endure till the end of the world. Self-reliance and personal assistance will always win over liberal, collective relativism. Our Constitutional republic shall rise from the ashes, and we shall once again fear the Creator of inalienable rights, or I shall die trying.----------------
I am one of His soldiers-
Dec 27, 2003= More Than Lost Shame
Recently Martin Kelly wrote an article entitled “The Death of Shame” in which he claims our moral decline comes from the death of shame. And, interestingly, Bill O’Reilly soon followed with his own spew that the loss of shame is negatively shaping America. It’s not that simple.
Yes, virtuous shame is dwindling-- I will guarantee you there were no braggart bumper stickers in 1960 that -shamelessly- announced, “My child made the honor roll at ... .” But the loss of virtuous shame is a by-product; one of many by-products of the loss of humility.
The seven deadly sins are growing in popularity: PRIDE, magnified by LUST and ENVY for everything that satisfies our GREED, fueled by GLUTTONY, made more desirous by our ANGER for not “keeping up with the Joneses,” has required us to lose our humility because we are dwelling in our on SLOTHfulness. We are much more than (perceivably) a country without Christian roots; we are a country specifically turning our backs on obvious Christian roots—a very different psychological/socio condition. And in our need to ignore the related shame, we are evolving into materialistic and bombastic relative individualists with the knack (desire?) for ignoring the obvious.
We exhibit loads of shame: We must not be seen without our makeup, or WITH our hair combed. We must not be seen holding a Bible or suggestively praying in public. We are regularly shamed into not speaking out against homosexuality for fear of being labeled homophobic. We suffer from all kinds of image problems due to shame over excessive body fat, being too short, too tall, too thin – our society is full of shame, its merely changed it’s orientation from a spiritual to a physical foundation.
Neither is it the loss of shame that misdirects our compassion. A Cardinal recently was heard stating that he has a “sense of compassion” for Saddam Hussein; based on the humiliating photos of Hussein with matted hair while having to submit to a physical. Compassion, for a dictator who use to slide human beings down the shoot of a giant plastic shredder? Compassion, for one who murders his detractors? Compassion for an exterminator and a philanderer? Tis my guess this Cardinal has a head full of book learning and a heart totally lacking in real-world experience; an all too often recipe for progressive, secular, intellectual leadership. The recent images of Saddam provoked loads of shamefulness from the Islamic world; shame is in our face everywhere.
What is waning is THAT which gave us DIRECTION for our compassion and our shame; we are losing touch with our western Instruction Manual: the Bible and its principles. What we are losing is that line in the sand, the one we use to know should not be crossed. Once the majority chooses to no longer serve God, they shall serve Man; serfdom renewed, and shame redefined.
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