As identified in part one, we are undergoing a moral crisis from Muncie, Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. It’s ugly to watch. Charles Blow, a columnist for the NY Times, says it’s the fear of losing the white majority which is fueling and undermining our greatness.
Everything that has happened during recent years is all about one thing: fear by white people that they will inevitably lose their numerical advantage in this country; and with that loss comes an alteration of American culture and shifting of American power away from white dominance and white control. White people don’t want to become one of many minority groups in America and have others — possibly from Asia, Latin America, Africa or the Middle East — holding the reins of power and dictating inclusion and equity.
Charles Blow in NY Times
I agree with the fear part but disagree that our poor decision making is based on racism alone. It goes much deeper. It’s our morality or lack of it.
Immoral systems do not produce moral results. If the system is set up to place profit before people, it’s not moral. In our market-based economy, that has been the goal and the results have been immoral. We have way too many people filing bankruptcy or foregoing life-saving treatments because of the costs involved. Our healthcare system isn’t moral.
How many moral systems exist?
Within the USA, I’d say not many. Even philanthropy has a black eye because of the strings attached. Listen to MLK:
Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.
“Loving Your Enemies”. Speech delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, November 17, 1957.
Instead of embracing a moral leader, our government leaders destroyed him. This is the price of morality. Those in charge are responsible for maintaining corrupt systems. Ask those in Congress about overturning Citizens United which basically allows anyone with cash to bribe public officials.
If Delaware County EMS was a private corporate system and was threatened by a publicly owned and operated MFD system, a few stacks of hundreds would make the whole thing go away. Doing the right thing isn’t a popular activity.
Even Albert Einstein told us how our systems worked against our moral instincts. In conclusion of his studies, he called capitalism “Evil” because of what it did to humans. We work against each other instead of collaborating. It’s the market influence which feeds self will or vice versa.
How do we reverse our downward spiral of immorality?
Plato strongly encouraged “philosopher kings” or “a philosopher king is a ruler who possesses both a love of knowledge, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life. “
Let’s hope they exist outside Plato’s utopian cities because our moral crisis keeps building and our fellows grow deeper in fear. The solutions are within our grasp, but for some reason, fear wins over love.
Why is that? I’m afraid the answer only supports human extinction.
