By Arnold Ahlert

Sadly, I believe the common denominator, the one that straddles the political and cultural divide that currently afflicts this nation, can be reduced to a very simple idea: we are suffering from a collective loss of faith. …

How has it come to this? I suppose the social scientists have a litany of answers, but for me a loss of faith comes down the idea that the general set of rules a society is supposed to abide by are being broken or ignored with alarming impunity. And that can only happen for one simple reason: Americans no longer have any kind of general agreement or understanding regarding what constitutes moral vs. immoral behavior.

Pick a topic like illegal immigration, for example. Only in a morally confused country could the terms “illegal alien” and “undocumented immigrant” be construed as interchangeable, or anything representing so-called comprehensive immigration reform be construed as something other than the triumph of political expediency and/or cynicism over the rule of law. One can argue the merits or demerits of legalizing millions of people who snuck across the border, but it requires a willful suspension of moral judgment to pretend that breaking the law requires this nation to make an accommodation for doing so. Thus it is no surprise that those unwilling to make such an accommodation must be labeled xenophobic, nativist, bigoted, etc., by those who must obscure their contempt for moral clarity.

The ongoing developments in the IRS scandal is another arena where Americans’ faith is being tested. There is no question that the IRS’s explanation for “losing” Lois Lerner’s emails – and by an amazing coincidence, six additional IRS workers whose computers also “crashed” – is utterly preposterous. …

Again, one would think Americans of every political persuasion would believe an agency with the kind of unfettered power the IRS possesses should be held accountable, even if those they targeted this time have beliefs different than their own. But in a nation as morally confused as America, a substantial number of us are convinced that as long as those being targeted hold different beliefs, blatant abuse of power is OK. Apparently it never occurs to such “pragmatists” that once a bedrock principle is violated, targets become far more “malleable” than they might imagine.

I believe the genesis of our current confusion stems from the so-called revolution of the ‘60s. That is when a deadly combination of “God is dead” secularism, coupled with the abnegation of personal responsibility that “do your own thing” – absent the critically necessary addendum of living with the consequences of that “thing – gave rise to a nation quite comfortable with making it up as we go along. So much so, that we took the keys of the kingdom away from traditional advisors in the religious sphere, and handed them to lawyers and therapists. Lawyers and therapists who have assured us that "right and wrong” are not nearly as relevant or important as “legal and illegal,” or “well and unwell.” …

It’s no accident that everyone gets a trophy nowadays. The same society that tolerates the obfuscation of morality isn’t about to make “onerous” distinctions between talent and ambition, or lack thereof. The resultant protection of oh-so-delicate egos may have seemed like a good idea, but it has seemingly taught millions of Americans that they have a divine right not to be offended. This unprecedented and stratospheric level of hypersensitivity has amplified the divisions among us. It’s as if the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” has been tossed on the ash heap of history.

In such a dubious environment, a loss of faith is unavoidable. Yet one is left to wonder how much longer an easily offended populace, willing more often than not to avoid moral accountability, can sustain itself. A substantial loss of faith in the people who lead us, those whose job it is to keep them in check, and ultimately each other, is easily exploitable. Twentieth century history alone is replete with examples of people who lost faith and, as a result, allowed themselves to be exploited by some of the most evil men in history. That’s because a society with little faith in itself can easily conflate competence with charisma, and hope with hogwash.

Haven’t we kidded ourselves long enough?