Alicia, a twenty-two year-old college senior, hails from an established, upper class family in the Midwest. After graduating from high school, she left home to pursue a college education in a Midwest University. Like many college students across our nation, money is a never-ending problem. Pressured from the mounting bills and “lack of money," Alicia decided to seek employment.
As a full time student, Alicia could only apply for a part time job with flexible hours. Says Alicia, “Ideally, I was looking for a job where I could work only three or four times a week for about twenty hours. Pay was another factor in my decision process. Although “beggars can’t be choosey," I wanted more money than what was being offered."
“After a few weeks of unsuccessful job hunting, I decided that maybe I wouldn’t work after all. Then one day, while thumbing through the classifieds in the university newspaper, an ad caught my eye: "Make thousands weekly, Call Debbie!" Curious and broke, I made the call."
After a brief interview, Debbie informed Alicia that the position was for an exotic dancer in a downtown strip club. Seduced with Debbie’s charm and business like manner, Alicia decided to “test the waters" and give it a try.
Recalling her first night of dancing at the club, Alicia admits, "I was really, really nervous -- I didn’t know what to expect." She adds, "The hardest part for me at first was not the dancing itself onstage, but actually talking to the patrons in the club." Although flustered, Alicia survived the first night with a grand slam. "At the end of my shift," Alicia continues, "I left the club with a little over five hundred dollars and I only worked for five hours! I’d have to flip burgers for the next few months to make that kind of money! Trust me, after that I was hooked."
When asked the main reason why she got into the business Alicia unabashedly declares, "The money!" For a college student, time and money are important factors in choosing any job. Alicia quickly adds, "As a dancer, I know I can make a lot of money without giving up my freedom. I’m not hurting anyone and I’m making tons of money. Hey, it doesn’t get any better than that, does it?"
As I listen to Alicia’s story, I want to scream, “It can get better – but not this way!" Instead, I remain silent and listen.
To quote Bob Dylan, “The Times, They Are A-Changin.’"
When I attended college in the ‘70s, not only was “strip-clubs" taboo, any girl who worked the clubs was considered “cheap" and “easy."
In the 25 years since I’ve graduated college, strip clubs not only have become socially acceptable, advertisers are encouraging pre-teens to discover the “art of pole dancing."
What gives? When did the “rules" change? Is it simply due to the fact that society is changing? Who makes these rules, God or men? The Christian and the theist turn toward the Creator of the Universe. The humanist or atheist turns toward himself. This distinction between theism and humanism, I believe, is the fundamental decay of traditional values.
Just as Jesus said “that man can’t live by bread alone," so man can’t live by intellect alone. If we exclude revelation as a source of direction in discovering who man is and rely solely on our own reasoning then we will slip into a permissive society that has no traditional guidelines and bears an “anything goes" mentality.
And thus begins the decline of a once powerful nation.
There are many reasons for the decline of a nation, with one being an abandonment of God and religion. Every culture in time has been based upon some form of religious or spiritual worldview. When the traditional beliefs of a nation erode, the nation dies. Religion provides the set of standards that govern a nation. Historian Will Durant said, "There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without religion." (Ibid., 9)
Unfortunately, our nation has embarked on a journey where Religious traditions and values have been stripped from society. As in past fallen empires, America is rapidly experiencing social, cultural and moral decay.
Social Decay
In his book, When Nations Die, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1994), Jim Nelson Black lists three aspects of decay: social decay, cultural decay, and moral decay. Says Black, “Three important trends demonstrate social decay. They are the crisis of lawlessness, the loss of economic discipline, and rising bureaucracy."
History provides ample illustrations of the disastrous consequences of the collapse of law and order. According to Mr. Black, "In ancient Greece, the first symptoms of disorder were a general loss of respect for tradition and the degradation of the young. Among the early symptoms was the decline of art and entertainment. The philosophers and pundits distorted the medium of communication. Rhetoric became combative and intolerant; intellectuals began to deride and attack all the traditional institutions of Hellenic society."
Cultural Decay
Mr. Black further explains Cultural Decay in a nation, “Four important trends demonstrate cultural decay. They are the decline of education, the weakening of cultural foundations, the loss of respect for tradition, and the increase in materialism."
In his book, Black states, “In describing the decadence of the Roman Republic, historian Polybius wrote that this preoccupation with luxury led to carnal indulgences.
For some young men indulged in affairs with boys, others in affairs with courtesans. They paid a talent (roughly a thousand dollars) for a boy bought for sexual pleasure and three hundred drachmas for a jar of caviar."
Moral Decay
Regarding moral decay, Jim Nelson Black states that there are three important trends that demonstrate moral decay: rise in immorality, the decay of religious belief, and the devaluing of human life.
The classic study of Roman civilization, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, written by English historian Edward Gibbon was published in 1776. He observed that "the leaders of the empire gave into the vices of strangers, morals collapsed, laws became oppressive, and the abuse of power made the nation vulnerable to the barbarian hordes."
Are We A Nation In Decline?
Looking back in time, one has to wonder what the fate of this country will be. Although no longer welcome in our land, I do believe that God sees the entire picture. It really isn’t necessary for me to know the end from the beginning, because He already knows. My prayers, however, remain faithful for our great country. Lord, on behalf of this country, I beg your forgiveness. Please, God, although many do not know it, America really does need You. |
