THE METRICS OF DECLINE

This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to and end;  TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:26-28).

E.J.Dionne Jr wrote an opinion piece that appeared in the January 15th Sioux City Journal titled, America isn't in decline and isn't retreating.  His piece has a very defensive tone, but he is a a socialist so the tone is understandable.  To the socialists in America, utopia is just over the horizon where there will be no guns, everyone will have a neat little abode with a few grains of rice and a bureaucrat watching their every move--Oh, I just described North Korea.

Dionne set me to thinking about what the metrics of national decline really might be.  My measurements would include the following:

1.  55 million abortions in the 40 years of legal abortion.  Our most innocent have been routinely "flushed down the toilet" since Rowe vs Wade as a matter of convenience.  This is a reductionist view of human life that is held by most of our legislators, our president and Justices and is reflected in "Affordable" Care Act.

2.  The loss of freedom.  Generally, people get the kind of government they deserve because government is a reflection of the national character.  Only a responsible people can be a free people.  What does it mean for us when we have government by executive order?  I thought we fought a war over that matter.

3.  The lack of monetary and budget credibility.Trillion plus dollar budget deficits a head as far as the eye can see and, in fact, the democrats want no limits on borrowing authority. There is nothing in obamanomics that can assure anyone that dynamic economic growth is ahead.  High unemployment and underemployment is the new normal.   Higher taxes and high inflation are on the horizon for everyone.
4.  The incompetence, or worse, of the handling and the cover up of the Benghazi affair.  The lack of resolve to bring to justice the radical Islamists who murdered Ambassador Stevens is criminal.  Is that interpreted as weakness and decline by the radicals in the Middle East? Absolutely.  The cover up of this, and like incidents, by the government with the full compliance of the main-stream news media to further a political agenda is certainly a metric of decline.  When the main-stream media becomes a propaganda machine for the government, our freedom is in jeopardy.

Blessed by God, America is a dynamic country and a land of great opportunity for all.  Each one must look into their own heart and determine if they are willing to be responsible and sacrifice so that our children can inherit the same opportunities that we did.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom