Americans are destroying America

I did borrow that title - I read a most interesting speech by Ezra Taft Benson. It was given at the April 1968 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can read it yourself if you have an old copy or a subscription to Deseret Book's website Gospelink.com. I read that it was also entered into the Congressional Record April 28, 1968 - I need to follow up on this to verify (You can only search the CR back to 1994 online).

Anyway the talk given by Elder Benson starts off by saying 'Americans are destroying America'.


I would like to quote part of this speech and at times comment on what was said. What is most incredible is how dire and grave the situation was in America 40 yrs ago when these words were broadcast. It is also interesting that Benson would talk to the members of the Church in America specifically when the Church is a worldwide organization (granted it was still predominately American at the time).

Elder Benson - after quoting parts of Doctrine & Covenants 134:1-3,5 - states, "The function of government is to protect life, liberty, and property, and anything more or less than this is usurpation and oppression. " PERIOD - this is such a cut and dry statement. In todays entanglement of laws it is easy to see that we are at times usurped and oppressed.

He then goes on to talk about the breakdown of law enforcement and the demoralization of the police force by a politically minded Supreme Court. He soon moves on to what the greatest threat to America is:

"I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I do not think our civilization will die that way. I think it will die when we no longer care, when the spiritual forces that make us wish to be right and noble die in the hearts of men, when we disregard the importance of law and order.
If American freedom is lost, if America is destroyed, if our blood-bought freedom is surrendered, it will be because of Americans. What's more, it will probably not be only the work of subversive and criminal Americans. The Benedict Arnolds will not be the only ones to forfeit our freedom.

"At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected?" asked Abraham Lincoln, and he answered, "If it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher; as a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide." (Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1837.)

If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July speakers—normally good Americans, but Americans who fail to comprehend what is required to keep our country strong and free—Americans who have been lulled away into a false security. "

Have we stopped caring? Too many have I am afraid. Do we disregard law and order? All to often yes - even at the highest levels of this government we do as the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of this great country. Politicians flaunt their ideals with total uncaring if it is constitutional or not. We enjoy our peace and our easy way of life too much to care. Even in this time of war a vast many Americans feel falsly secure.

Next he goes on to talk about the erosion of national morality. How far we have strayed. He is going to list a number of statics from the 1950s and 1960s and just try and compare that today. If it was alarming then it is oh so much more dire and reprehensible now:

"In this blessed land we have exalted security, comfort, and ease above freedom. If we dwelled at length on the many things that are disturbing in the life of America today, we might well become discouraged. I mention only a few of the reported startling evidences of our national illness, our moral erosion.

—There is a decline of U.S. morals and moral fiber, a turning to pleasure and away from hard work and high standards of the past.

—There is a growing worry in our universities over cheating in examinations.

—Nationwide juvenile delinquencies show an eight-fold increase since 1950.

—There is a 500-million dollar smut industry in this country causing youngsters to wrestle with standards of value.

—America is the biggest market for narcotics.

—Although we consider ourselves a people who believe in law and order, we have seen much evidence of the passion of the mob.

—Riots have occurred in 137 different cities and towns in 33 months, resulting in 120 deaths, including 12 police officers slain; 3,623 other persons injured; 28,932 arrested; and hundreds of millions of dollars property damage.

—Crime in the United States is up 88 percent in seven years, rising nearly nine times faster than population, up 16 percent per year, according to the FBI. Crime costs some $20 billion a year, and less than 21 percent of reported crimes result in arrests and less than one-third of those in convictions.

—In the midst of a cold war and preparation for a possible shooting war of survival, we have faced 651 strikes at missile bases in six years.

—The United States government has racked up a shameful record of 31 treasury deficits in the past 35 years.

—The sky-rocketing cost of the welfare state increased in 8 years from 6.9 billion to 20.3 billion dollars in 1961 and stood at 87 billion 578 million in 1966.

—There are over 7,700,000 people on relief in federal, state, and local programs.

—During the past 33 years our budget has increased 20 times over, and our national debt has increased from $16 billion to an admitted $324 billion; adding accrued liabilities payable in the future, our real indebtedness exceeds $1 trillion, or an average indebtedness of $5,200 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.

—Our present federal debt is equal to a first mortgage of $10,000 on all owned homes in the country and is reported to exceed the combined debt of all countries of the world. Annual interest on the soaring national debt is over $15 billion—only defense and welfare are higher.

—American currencies are weaker than those of Germany and Japan, who were defeated in World War II.

—Inflation has struck a serious blow to the value of the American dollar.

—We continue to move in the direction of more federal intervention, more concentration of power, more spending, more taxing, more paternalism, more state-ism."

How do I even begin to comment on these statements and facts? Wow if only we could go back to 1968! The short answer is we need morality to come back in America. It has to start with us. We have to be brave and stand up. We must teach our children morality. We must do it all on our own - everything. We rely too heavily on government programs to do it for us - we rely on them to teach sex education, to teach kids to say no to drugs, to teach kids about our heritage and politics, to pay for our mortgages, to give us jobs, to take care of our friends and neighbors in need. In the end the programs become greater than their creators and while some programs were made with good intentions while others were not. Regardless it becomes in the 'Government we Trust" and not in 'God we Trust".

Ezra Taft Benson goes on to quote James Madison, "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations."

Benson declares boldly, "If America is to withstand these influences and trends, there must be a renewal of the spirit of our forefathers, an appreciation of the American way of life, a strengthening of muscle and sinew and the character of the nation. America needs guts as well as guns. National character is the core of national defense. "

That statement is so powerful to me! We need to renew the spirit of our forefathers and appreciate the American way of life. In other words get up and do something! Be actively engaged in being productive. Be strong in your convictions!

I will conclude by quoting some of Benson's last statements:

"Our priceless heritage is threatened today as never before in our lifetime: from without by the forces of Godless Communism, and at home by our complacency and by the insidious forces of the Socialist-Communist conspiracy, with the help of those who would abandon the ancient landmarks set by our fathers and take us down the road to destruction. It was Alexander Hamilton who warned that "nothing is more common than for a free people, in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary passions, by letting into the government, principles and precedents which afterwards prove fatal to themselves." (Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation, p. 462.)

Serious and concerned citizens everywhere are asking, "Can we cope with these threatening realities?" Yes, we can; if we would allow the local police to do their job, they could handle the rioting and looting. Yes, we can, if we have the courage and wisdom to return to basic concepts, to recall the spirit of the founding fathers and accept wholeheartedly these words of Thomas Paine, whose writings helped so much to stir people to action during the days of the American Revolution when he said:

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; `tis dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."(The Political Words of Thomas Paine, p. 55.)

As American citizens who love freedom, we must return to a respect for national morality—respect for law and order. There is no other way of safety for us and our posterity. The hour is late; the time is short. We must begin now, in earnest, and invite God's blessings on our efforts.

The United States should be a bastion of real freedom. We should not support the world's greatest evil, the Godless, Socialist-Communist conspiracy that seeks to destroy all we hold dear as a great Christian nation and to promote insidiously the breakdown of law and order and the erosion of our morality.

With God's help we must return to those basic concepts, those eternal verities, the rule of law and order upon which this nation was established. With an aroused citizenry and the help of Almighty God it can be accomplished. God grant it may be so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

What are your thoughts, has America strayed from its roots? Do we need to make a shift in our morals? What do you think of the state of America today?