Integrity Matters
| Published 11/19/04

Graphic by: Allen Blickle

Today's children learn a lot of important lessons. The first is that there is always one more chance. The second is that it is OK to misbehave if momma doesn't know. Oh, and don't forget "It's all relative" and "Peace and love for everybody."

The truth is that when it comes to tense circumstances, there isn't always another shot. Sometimes we have to take a stand and be accountable for it. If we're wrong, we take it on the chin. If we're right, then we take it with grace. Collectively, our children are taught to cut and run or to use any means necessary to reject defeat.

It isn't politically correct to be firm about anything. We have to use phrases like "I think" and "I feel." Twenty or thirty years ago, it was still popular to hold the line. When someone truly believed in something, they left no place for negotiation. President Kennedy never flinched during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and President Reagan refused to compromise American security when dealing with the former Soviet Union. It was okay for them to use emphatic statements and dare to be wrong.

Today, we have soccer leagues where no one is allowed to lose and every game ends in a tie. We have politicians that compromise their beliefs for the sake of political expediency. Instead of teaching today's young people about accountability and faith (in anything), we teach them to pass the buck. Just to prove a point, you'll notice I had to apologize for saying faith in an academic work.

Rather than use common historical references such as B.C. and A.D., we now use B.C.E and C.E which mean "before the common era" and "common era." It isn't OK to use for scientific fact, because it involves God. As a substitute for teaching religion from the perspective of truth and evidence, it is now taught from the "academic" perspective. This translates to a politically correct discount of everything involving religion. I find solace in the fact that when we encouraged unobtrusive faith in schools; we didn't have kids showing up with guns and pipe bombs.

Where is all of this leading? The President is in the process of reshaping his cabinet as every two-term president has done in the past. Every secretary resigns, because they serve at the pleasure of the president. If the president wishes for that secretary to continue their service, the resignation will not be accepted. When one really wants to leave their post or is not invited back, the resignation is accepted. As of now, Secretaries Powell, Paige, Abraham, Evans and Veneman along with Attorney General Ashcroft have permanently resigned. Some of them resigned in order to return to the private sector, and some resigned for health and family reasons. There are a few who have left because of their disagreements with the administration's policies. This particular sect represents those who have had enough of toeing the line. It represents those who wished to continue appeasement in the Middle East.

The only hope we have for seeing morals reign supreme is in our young people. It is time to honor and teach about leaders who today's scholars call "hard nosed" and spend a little less time teaching appeasement, dangerous peace and passing the buck. The American people spoke, and it is obvious which side they are on.