A Nation In Crisis, Yet Not Without Hope

 I have wondered, with very good reason, if our nation's third century could end up very much like the 3rd century A.D. was for the late Roman Empire. With the many crises our nation is currently facing, it is not hard to wonder, let alone question, if America is truly falling apart even in this era of time, the current 21st century A.D. I recently stumbled upon this curious article which I found on a website called Newsbusters, and it truly stunned me. Read it and see what I mean:

'The Crisis of Our Third Century'

    'As a global pandemic raged and governments began locking down and sheltering citizens in place, the United States Congress allocated $46.5 billion in rental assistance. With a moratorium in place to prevent evictions, Congress was mindful landlords would need help paying the mortgages on their rental properties. Renters would need help paying rent. Over the last year, only $1.7 billion of the $46.5 billion has been distributed. Now, with the Supreme Court unwilling to extend an eviction moratorium Congress did not actually authorize and Congress also unwilling to extend it, evictions will begin. It was avoidable because Congress allocated the money to help renters. The bureaucracy just never spent it.

     Vaccine hesitancy has come, in part, not because of crank videos on the internet and supposed experts dabbling in conspiracy, but through government incompetence. The pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine spooked Americans. The government paused the rollout of that vaccine due to a slight risk of blood clots in women. The risk of clotting is actually less than the risk of clotting from birth control pills, but the government freaked out about the former and has considered the latter just incidental. Skepticism over COVID-19 comes with mask mandates. The governor of Oregon just ordered an outdoor mask mandate. Outside is literally the safest place to be from COVID-19. Masks are not required. But government institutions have shut down beaches, skate parks and playgrounds, all of which the actual science shows are safe, even with people gathered. The virus is spreading inside, not outside. Likewise, globally, Americans are the only ones putting elementary school children in masks. It has become dogma, but there is no evidence for the efficacy of masking toddlers. Inflation is on the rise. From groceries to utilities to gas for their cars, Americans are feeling inflation in their wallets. The Biden administration says it is “transitory,” even as more and more economists expect it to be around for a while. But the government pretends that nothing is wrong. 

    Regarding law enforcement, our politicians have turned their backs on the police. Crime is spreading across the country. Police refuse to police. Should something unfortunate happen in an arrest, the officer becomes the fall guy. At the federal level, the FBI continues to reveal itself to be a hotbed of incompetence and politics. Our intelligence systems are broken, feeding bad and inaccurate information to policymakers. Our military leadership is more interested in critical race theory than countering China. 

    Afghanistan is our national humiliation. The Biden administration ignored warnings, the president himself ignored his advisers, and now the United States, after 20 years, is returning the Taliban to power. Even now, our president is being dictated to by the Taliban. If former President Donald Trump were in charge, the American press corps would assume Trump was bought and paid for by the Taliban. Maybe they are the ones who bought Hunter Biden's paintings. 

    Between A.D. 235 and A.D. 284, crisis fell upon the Roman Empire. The “Crisis of the Third Century” is studied in history classes. In 50 years, there were 26 claimants to the Roman imperial throne. Eventually, the empire split into three separate states, all of which not only claimed some connection to Rome, but also to local ties. It took Emperor Aurelian to put the pieces of the empire back together before he himself was murdered by his aides. The crisis finally resolved itself with the rise of Diocletian. Through the Crisis of the Third Century, the Roman bureaucracy functioned and kept the empire going. Taxes were collected. Crimes were punished. Sanitation and water projects were funded and completed. It remains one of the remarkable characteristics of the Roman Empire. As emperors were slaughtered in their sleep and soldiers killed other soldiers, the Roman bureaucracy collected the taxes, harvested the grain, made the bread and fed the people. It was not perfect. There were problems. But the bureaucracy mostly functioned competently. Our nation is breaking apart. Americans spend their time hating their neighbors. The politicians focus on election instead of policy. The bureaucracy is sclerotic. Reforms are needed and there are no reformers willing to act. We are in the crisis of our third century now.'

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    So, this is a question that may very well be critical for us all to ask, both as a nation and as a society: Is America on the brink of total collapse? Will our nation survive the crises that plague it so in the 21st century A.D.? Indeed, will our liberties and our way of life survive in the crises of this current century? Or is it already far too late to reverse the social and economic damage to our nation?

     From the way things are going in America at this current time in our history, I believe personally that dark days do indeed lay ahead for our nation that will test us all, both socially and spiritually, as well as economically and politically. But I also believe that in spite of the dark times that will inevitably engulf our nation, we must stay true to ourselves and to our faith in God, in liberty, and in justice. Indeed, times may become tough, and things may become hard, but it does not mean we should give up all hope. As Thomas Paine once put it, "These are the times that try men's souls." All nations, even our own, have times of peace and plenty, as they doubtless have times of famine and chaos. But it is when you are in utter darkness and at such total loss that God comes to the rescue, if only you turn it all to Him and pray humbly to Him for spiritual grace and guidance.

    This nation was founded on the very basis of Judeo-Christian values and principles that were indeed held up and much valued by our Founding Fathers. It is these very basic values and principles that are the fabric of both our nation and of our Constitution. And yet, even today, we seem to have forgotten and forsaken these very Judeo-Christian values and principles that have so blessed and strengthened us as a nation and as a society for over 200 years. And I truly believe that until we return back to these very basic Judeo-Christian values and principles that were handed down to us by our Founding Fathers and are indeed the very fabric of our nation and our Constitution, we will never be able to recover from the dark times that currently plague our nation so very terribly.

    I pray that we will one day return to the very Judeo-Christian values and principles upon which our nation was founded. I just hope it won't be too late for us all when we do so.