by ProfDave, ©2022
(Feb. 15, 2022) — Fourteen years ago, presidential candidate Barack Obama declared that the “Culture Wars” were over. Do you remember? In the same spirit two years ago, candidate Joe Biden (Obama’s VP) promised to unite the nation. Obama symbolized this unity in his “debate” at Rick Warren’s church. Except, if you listened, you heard things like “life begins at conception” subject to the mother’s choice and “marriage is between a man and a woman” and whoever else we decide is entitled to it. “Faith based organizations” can contribute (under secular cover) so long as we remember we are no longer a Christian nation and so forth. “Both and” – such an easy solution! The cultural left thought they could end the discussion by declaring victory. Was the revolution over? But what is sacred in this brave new world? Are there any values left that transcend self-interest? What do our soldiers fight for – or should they fight at all – or should there be soldiers?
Is there anything sacred these post-modern days? What is sacred? My Webster’s says, “set apart by solemn religious ceremony; . . . consecrated; dedicated; devoted; entitled to the highest respect or reverence; venerable; not to be profaned or violated; inviolable . . .” Leaving aside the question of whether religion (at least Christian religion) itself is sacred anymore, ceremonies do not have to be held in a church to have a religious character – a JP or a Judge is sufficient to administer the oath (on guess-what). The sacred is something we give value beyond ourselves and our pleasures – something more important than we are, something to be preserved without counting the cost, something untouchable. Is there anything sacred these days?
Is there anything sacred in Washington today? What have Americans traditionally held sacred? Many of the first Americans were particularly concerned with freedom of conscience and their worship of God. Europeans came to these shores fleeing more than a century of bitter war, destruction and repression aimed at forcing conscientious people to act contrary to their conscience. The promised land they sought was where they would never again to have to choose between their conscience and the law. Freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are not exactly the same, but closely related. The issue was not so much tolerance for it’s own sake, but the sacredness and integrity of the individual conscience in its relation to God. There was no thought of freedom from God, but freedom to worship Him correctly without interference or compulsion. Compromise was very difficult: many preferred death or banishment.
Cultural conservatives still regard conscience as sacred and public reverence for God – Jesus included for Christians – obligatory. “One nation under God.” Cultural liberals believe conscience is – and should be – circumstantial and flexible, determined by current consensus and law. Change the rules and everyone should fall in step. Freedom of – from? – conscience and religion means never having to hear their behavior or beliefs condemned as immoral or wrong. Certainly not under God. Still sacred, perhaps, but not at all the same thing.
Is there anything sacred in America today? I am reminded that women and children were once considered sacred. We had a “White Ribbon Against Pornography” week, asking the U.S. Attorney General and state prosecutors to vigorously enforce obscenity laws. Porn is a powerful addiction that destroys families and drives human trafficking, sexual abuse and crime. Women and children become objects to be consumed and preyed upon. Yes, children – and in America. Traditionally, of course, all human life was sacred in the Judeo-Christian ethic, but the special value and vulnerability of women and children in the continuation of the human race was protected. “Women and children first.” Now children are unwanted, the Greens don’t care whether the race is continued or not and gender hostility and exploitation are being popularized.
Is anything sacred in America today? Traditionally, the individual conscience and all things religious have been held sacred in America, as we have seen. But not everyone came to this country for religious reasons – far from it: even the pious often had mixed motives. Early documents speak of “Liberty” as a transcendent, sacred value. Broadly, they did not want a distant government or a local blue-blood meddling with their lives. Economic opportunity and political – as well as religious – self-government were values worth dying for. The Revolution was fought over far lower tax rates than we have today. Is individual initiative still sacred? Or are we so intimidated by the risks and overwhelmed by the complexity of the regulations we would rather have Uncle Sam do it all for us?
Is anything sacred in America? The Declaration of Independence justified the existence of the new nation by rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” given by “their Creator.” I doubt they were thinking about abortion (or redefining marriage either) – that ancient evil had been outlawed since the 4th century (and marriage had been firmly established since the Garden of Eden). The signators were probably thinking about the Redcoats quartered in American cities. The important point was that all the rights came from God – not from the Supreme Court or by popular demand. Are they still sacred if you leave God out? Do we have the right to be a nation if there is no “Creator” – if Darwin was right? Can we insist on transcendent values (“sacred rights”) without respecting a transcendent being? In a world governed by chance alone, whatever rights you please to assert are tissue paper and sand castles. They vanish when the tide comes in.
Is there anything sacred in America? How about marriage? The oldest institution – before church or state. Gender, marriage, and the family were sacred before the Indians discovered America! Motherhood, fatherhood, brotherhood, and sisterhood are fundamental values dependent on marriage and family. It is the basic tie that unites he-ness and she-ness to propagate and nurture the human race, civilize men and protect women. Outside marriage and family, men are loose cannons, women get hurt, and children are dead meat! Ever think how weird gender is? We guys have more DNA in common with male gorillas than with women, but we’re the same species! And together we make little humans of both kinds! But if you were not raised by the same couple who produced you, you have a grievance against life that will follow you to your grave. Is marriage sacred in America? Is it sacred to you?
Without marriage, men are loose cannons, women are targets, and children are collateral damage. That is not to say that all single men are vicious criminals, but rootlessness is not good for men and numbers of rootless men are not good for society. God said it first: “it is not good for man to be alone.” [Genesis 2:18] Someone should do a study of the impact of surplus males in history. We can only guess, demographic data not being available, but I’m thinking Huns, Goths, Vandals in the 4th century, the Arabs in the 7th and 8th, the Vikings in the 9th – 11th, and more. Why else did Scandinavian farmers and fishermen leave their homes to pillage all Europe? But when they turned from raping local girls to marrying them, they showed a genius for organizing model feudal princedoms from Kiev to London! China today has an excess of 30% males over females, thanks to the one-child policy and aborting their girls – half a billion unattached males! Genghis Khan’s hordes didn’t have 1% of that. Something’s going to blow!
What’s sacred in America? Traditionally, the parental relationship has been sacred: motherhood, fatherhood, childhood. Children are our future. They were to be protected and their discipline and education – physical, social, intellectual, and moral – was of highest family priority. We still have laws on the books to protect them from adult exploitation – and their own foolishness. Children do not do well without parents – or without either a father or a mother. They do not “live long upon the land” if they do not honor their parents’ instructions, either. But post-modern culture ridicules parenthood and public schools seek to replace parental influence. Nowhere is this more evident than in issues of sexuality. Parents are not supposed to know about their children’s experimentation, exploitation, gender transition or abortion. Children are treated as burdens and accidents, so why are we surprised when gangs replace families in the lives of adolescents?
What’s sacred in America? How about America? Patriotism and the flag have been honored values in America from the first, making holidays like Armistice Day and Memorial Day semi-religious rituals. “My country, right or wrong” meant a loyalty expected even when we disagreed with national policy and an almost idolatrous regard for the flag. “The melting pot” meant a sense of nationhood that transcended blood, creed, and origin. “One nation under God” meant something. Somehow, in the sixties and during the Vietnam war, this unity broke down. Hanoi Jane was celebrated instead of executed as a traitor, the flag was burned, and patriotism became a right-wing extremist thing. Sometimes it seems that anti-patriotism extends even to the White House. We have become a nation of minorities, each with their own special grievance against “them,” and little interest in the whole. Mostly we are a nation of individuals, each striving to get “ours,” defended by professional armed forces who are a minority in themselves. Enough said.
What’s sacred in America? Equality. We don’t recognize or defer to “our betters.” Our Declaration of Independence tells us “All men are created equal,” deriving essential dignity and value from the Creator, regardless of different abilities and characteristics. Does it still work under Darwinism? Well, no, there is no dignity and differences are essential for evolution. America had a problem with racism and anybody-but-us-ism, but the sacredness of equality before God helped us overcome it – in fact we tend to favor the underdog. We try to lead without superiority and obey without humiliation. But the NFL teams don’t take turns winning the Superbowl and Miss America is not selected at random. So why do we expect to get rich on the lottery? What is traditionally American is equality of essence and of opportunity, not necessarily of condition. Economic equality is problematic. The successful should help the unsuccessful, but should the government enforce it? If we go too far in that direction, we squelch the enterprise which produces wealth – for everyone. It has been tried. Should everybody have the same things? Is everybody entitled to everything – the way the TV ads teach us?
Is there anything sacred in America? We have come up with quite a list of traditional American values – faith, conscience, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” marriage, women and children, family, motherhood, fatherhood, childhood, equality, and patriotism – did I forget anything? In our day, somehow, these things are controversial. This is the stuff of the “culture wars” – the “civil war of values.” Rightly or wrongly, everything is open to question and redefinition. Nothing is unquestionable – “sacred.” A historian must ask, is this new? Has it happened before? Or is it just the same old thing happening to new people – to us! I’m reading Ecclesiastes. Think of the 5th century (the fading of Rome), or the 14th century (the waning of the Middle Ages) and periods of civilization change. Is American – is Western – civilization disintegrating? Faith is the soul of civilization. Is America losing its soul? Is it shedding its core values in preparation for some new Messiah? Some new faith? The age of Aquarius or the age of Oblivion? Or is this ‘revolution’ just a speed bump? A pendulum swing before the new revival?
David W. Heughins (“ProfDave”) is Adjunct Professor of History at Nazarene Bible College. He holds a BA from Eastern Nazarene College and a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Holiness in 12 Steps (2020). He is a Vietnam veteran and is retired, living with his daughter and three grandchildren in Connecticut.