It took 60 years to get us to this point

Rome's decline took much longer

The beginning of America’s decline is a subject of continual debate. Some point to Woodrow Wilson’s efforts to create a more predatory federal government with his introduction of a federal income tax and plenty of “progressive” policies. As is typical for most Democrats, Wilson’s history as a white supremacist has been largely ignored.

Others will invoke the huge expansion of the federal government under FDR, including the insidious Social Security system. But, give FDR some actuarial credit. If his Social Security cut in at age 65, the life expectancy in 1935 was 64.

Some might mention LBJ, given the cost and ineffectiveness of his Great Society programs. Other candidates could include Lincoln for acting as a virtual dictator during the Civil War era. Heck, you could even mention Washington himself, for his armed crushing of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. I guess taxation was unfair only if levied by the British.

But, for my money, it is more instructive to look at key political and cultural events occurring within the lifetime of many of us to gain a better understanding…

1961: The various school prayer court decisions. In an overheated response to the exaggerated hurt feelings of a tiny few, virtually all religious and moral instruction was quickly purged from public education. Complaints that could have been rightly ignored became a pretext to head us into a secular, nay, atheistic society. I bet that plenty of female athletes have hurt feelings over being forced to compete with biological men, but—as always—it depends whose ox is gored.

1964: The Civil Rights Act. Widely hailed at the time, the clearly racist Affirmative Action was soon to follow, to the utter dismay of such liberals as Hubert Humphrey. In its wake, and continuing to this very day, is a never-ending procession of victim groups, and attendant legislation to “protect” them.

1965: Medicare. Opposed by some at the time, who saw that it would quickly lead to federal control of healthcare, this monstrously wasteful program has done more to transform medicine (and not for the better) than any other single act. The notion of Medicare also changed what was then called “medical insurance” from catastrophic coverage to virtually first-dollar plans. Thus, there is no real doctor-patient relationship anymore, since everything is third party paid.

1965: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Although its proponents strongly denied it, by altering which countries would be favored, this was nothing less than a wholesale transformation of the American character. What better way to make our country more “progressive” than to bring in millions who did not share our culture or heritage?

1966: Miranda v. Arizona Supreme Court decision. In the first of a series of pro-criminal rulings, the conviction of a confessed rapist is overturned. Try to wrap your arms around the fact that apparently law enforcement did not “Mirandize” poor Ernesto, since of course no such requirement yet existed. In a case of karmic justice, though, Miranda, who at this point was supporting himself by winning bar bets claiming he was the Miranda, was killed in a bar fight. It is said that the investigation of his homicide was not exactly thorough.

1973: Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Although this has been overturned, untold societal damage occurred in its nearly 50 active years. Besides the millions of fetal deaths, including huge numbers in the Black community, this decision, more than any other, permanently distorted the meaning of “rights.” Of course, there is no “right” to kill an innocent person, and anyway, the government does not grant rights, but only takes them away. After all, why was the Civil Rights Act needed, if government had not discriminated against Blacks in the first place?

1979: Founding of the Department of Education. Even though the Federal government’s interest in education dates back to Reconstruction, the current agency was founded as a big gift to the teachers’ unions. Reagan tried to close it down, but could not get that past the Democratic congress. Since billions of dollars are at stake here, the Feds can force all sorts of agendas onto local school districts. However, no one (other than a misguided ideologue) would argue that our schools are producing better-educated graduates now, than they did before the agency’s inception.

Given but a moment’s thought, it is intuitively obvious that all of the above events carried a not-so-hidden agenda of weakening our moral fiber, and growing the federal government while making us more dependent on it. But, it’s one thing to explain our decline, and a whole other matter to do something about it.