“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” —Benjamin Franklin

What has happened to the United States? Many say that it is a natural progression that is inevitable, but is it actually the breakdown of our morals, our ethics, our family structure and our school systems? Is it the inevitable “chains of government,” that have slowly but surely bound us with the very freedoms we claim to embrace?

In the name of progression, we have thrown out the very things that made this country great. Our leaders have shunned the very thought that the United States is a Christian Nation and our freedoms are slowly being taken from us on a daily basis. Government of the people, by the people, for the people, exists no more!  We are now being ruled by the political elite who have adopted  "political correctness,“ as the new rule of law.

Writer Malcomb Muggeridge (one time editor of Punch magazine) wrote, "It is difficult to resist the conclusion that 20th century man has decided to abolish himself . Tired of the struggle to be himself he has created boredom out of his own affluence, impotence out of his own erotomania, and vulnerability out of his own strength, He himself  blows the trumpet that brings the walls of his own cities crashing down until at last having educated himself into imbecility, having drugged and polluted himself into stupefaction, he keels over, a weary old brontosaurus, and becomes extinct.”

In a recent speech, Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias speaks of the progressive movement and secularism: “It proclaims the gospel [bible], as the last hoorah of an antiquated outlook, to a generation who is intellectually unkept, morally unzipped and volitionally uncurbed. They reveal their sickness of soul by derogating terms like morality, piety, family, work, patriotism, born again, theology , evangelical and christianity. They dismiss [the bible] as middle class hedonism, declaring it intellectually inadmissible while meanwhile, they espouse a life that neither reason nor conscious nor spirit can support or condone…”

Is Christianity so intimidating that our government must stop it at all costs? Why does the progressive movement so determined to redefine our morals and replace them with a sense of self-importance with no sense of shame or responsibility? Is the United States truly a autonomous culture? Do we really respect the right of everyone to believe as they choose? Live and let live? Although we pride ourselves as being autonomous,  has it become a bait and switch society?  We are told that we have freedom of religion and freedom of speech, however, the moment our views do not fit the dialogue taught by the progressives, we are forced, through new government laws and regulations, to change our beliefs. If we are truly an autonomous culture, we must be mutually respectful and civil towards others views and life choices.  However, we are now at the mercy of political correctness which is quickly becoming forced integration.

Recently, Fairfax county in Virginia voted to allow transgender bathrooms in our schools and our communities. This is becoming the norm in cities and states across our nation. Is this progression, or does this fall under the definition of a free society? If an individual has been born with the desire to be a different gender, should we force society to acquiesce to that need? Should our government decide at what age our children should, learn about, experience and accept the definition of transgender? Does this infringe on the freedoms of parents to make a decision regarding the age appropriateness of the subject? Have we taken “freedom” too far? If you choose a lifestyle, you are free to live it. However, should we force everyone to accept it and embrace it?  This is where our society has taken a turn away from common sense. Must we now label bathrooms with every sexual preference regardless of how it infringes on other’s rights?  Will they be labeling bathrooms with a long list of those who are allowed to enter at their own risk? What happened to the simplicity of “Men” and “Women” bathroom signs, and allowing the individual to decide which applies to them? Why must we label every sexual preference on our bathrooms and then force society to embrace it? What is next?

Should we rule that pedophilia is no longer a sexual deviation, but sexual liberation? Believe it or not, progressives are actually debating this issue as we speak.

In an article by The Guardian, “Pedophilia: bringing dark desires to light,” it says, “The reclassification of pedophilia as a sexual orientation would, however, play into what Goode calls "the sexual liberation discourse”, which has existed since the 1970s. “There are a lot of people,” she says, “who say: we outlawed homosexuality, and we were wrong. Perhaps we’re wrong about pedophilia.”

The United States is a country founded on freedoms. However, have we taken leave of our senses? Have we taken “political correctness” to a level that we must allow, accept and embrace any and all behavior, no matter the deviation from the norm? Under the new progressive movement, must we allow babies to be ripped from their mother’s wombs up to and including 9 months of gestation, in order to allow freedom of choice for women?  Must we educate our young children on the different sexual lifestyles; heterosexuality, homosexuality, bi-sexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, through the public school system, in the name of sexual freedom?  Must we embrace the destruction, looting, burning and violence that comes with protests in order to support the freedom of speech? Must we point the finger of blame for the sins of the past, demand restitution while enduring reverse discrimination in the name of equal rights? Must we quiet the voices of Christianity, while lifting up Islamic extremism, in the name of religious freedom? Must we, not only welcome, and pay for illegals but allow them a voice in our elections in the name of voter rights? Must we accept the NSA into our bedrooms, homes, computers, bank accounts, phone calls and every aspect of our personal lives in the name of national security? Must we accept the audits and persecution of the IRS when our political beliefs and voices go against the beliefs of the political elite? Must we all follow the dietary rule of law set by government because they say we simply do not know better? Must we allow the political elite to indoctrinate our children through a government controlled education system that will ensure the decline of our competitive standing in the world and the continued control of the masses? How long can we continue to allow our constitutional republic to be turned into a tyrannical system of government? If  Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry, then we are seeing our country fundamentally changed against our will every day.

Must we accept the mutilation of our constitution and accept lies and deceit in place of truth all in the name of politics and power? Must we accept that we are no longer the electorate and the elected, but the ruling and the ruled? It is time to stand up and break the chains of government that have bound us all and get back to the basics on which this country was founded. Family, hard work, an understanding of right and wrong, and common sense freedoms that were intended by our Founding fathers.

“When secularism has evicted everything that is sacred and made a free for all grab for sensation and feeling alone it will ultimately irradiate a feeling of shame in a culture. Shame is a desperately needed sensation when things are wrong deep within you. Show me a man or a woman or a culture without shame and I will show you monstrosity in the making. If secularism leads to a society without shame, society cannot survive.” —Ravi Zacharias

“If chance be the father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky. And when you hear a state of emergency …. sniper kills, youths go looting, bomb blasts school …. it is but the sound of man worshipping his maker.” —Steve Turner