The other tragedies in the Colorado shooting

Decay in our culture needs definition

By Bob Edwards

Gazette Contributor

(Gazette Blog Editor's note: Bob Edwards is a former Michigan state legislator and former mayor of Payson.)

 

Once again America is shocked by true evil and once again we have to ask, have we learned from our past.

Our politicians clearly have not, proving again that their number one goal is self preservation when their first reaction is to jump in front of the nearest camera to push whatever stance they support.

Likewise, our press once again proved they don’t understand that the first rule of a real journalist is to gather true information and impart it to the public in a true and unvarnished manner. This was demonstrated when ABC’s   Brian Ross, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, made the false charge that the shooter was a member of the Tea Party. This was a very dangerous and damaging charge and to make it without proof should qualify Ross for the unemployment line. It was also disappointing to see a veteran newsperson like Stephanopoulos just accept the possibility without warning of possible error and to not make the point that the record of the Tea Party has been peaceful assembly and if the person had truly been a member he would clearly be a rogue member. 

In sharp contrast to the self-serving politicians and the knee jerk press is the action of military man Jon Blunk who put himself on top of his girl friend Jansen Young sacrificing his life to save hers.

Instead o f the politicians looking for self-aggrandizement they should be looking to define the decay of our culture that allows this type of action to take place on an all too frequent basis. America was created as a Christian nation based on a Judeo-Christian foundation; but today, that foundation is under attack with situation ethics as its replacement. This attack is done in the name of separation of church and state by those who misinterpret the Constitution and who see the church as an enemy. 

Whether you agree or disagree with this, it is hard to argue with the fact that these principles have served us better than the current “situation ethics” approach. However, before Christian churches look for others to blame for the America’s moral decay they need to look inward and ask if they are leading or following.

Alex de Tocqueville, a French political writer whose works about the American wonder are still used in universities today, visited America in its early days to find its secret of greatness. He concluded “America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

All countries and all men are as good as the principles that guide them, America has been good because it is guided by Judeo-Christian principles… should it walk away from these principles, it will fail to be the exceptional nation our forefathers designed and Tocqueville found.

An apparent conclusion to this type of tragedy is that if we are waiting for our political or church leaders to alter America’s moral structure to prevent future tragedies we will probably be disappointed… it would appear that it is on the shoulders of each peace and America loving citizen to take action.