Those of us most alarmed about America’s future tend to direct our scorn at the political apparatus, particularly the federal government. We have argued time and again that reforming the federal government is impossible, leaving perhaps only nullification or secession as the paths to resurrecting the American dream of limited government and the rule of law. We tend to ignore, however, an issue far more basic that concerns the type of people who will inhabit the America we yearn to save. We cannot afford to ignore this issue much longer, for any political separation will be pointless if the new America is overrun by the same species of citizen degrading it now. Such citizens are, for lack of a better term, cultural orphans: they are rootless; they feel no connection to America’s past; they have no reverence for America’s founding principles (or any principles, for that matter); and they show little or no care of preserving America for the future. In short, America needs a cultural divorce. Divorce is a painful but vital step when two people grow irreconcilable and can no longer live under the same roof. The same goes for the two peoples inhabiting America today, who are as irreconcilable as oil and water. A mere political divorce will not save us, for we may find ourselves still awash in oily company that enables governmental abuse. As private individuals devoted to the cause of liberty, we must distance ourselves from these cultural orphans to ensure that our collective efforts at preserving America will not be in vain.
Just who are the cultural orphans? Deep down you know who they are, but perhaps you have never reflected on it. They derive their basic notions about life, politics, history, and the world from Hollywood fantasy, not from the real tapestry of human experience through the ages. They know who writes their favorite novels, but they have no idea who wrote the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. They invest more emotion in a sports match or a rock concert than they do in an ongoing war. They believe the Constitution means whatever the Supreme Court says it means. They file lawsuits to recover damages for spilling coffee in their own laps; for leaving a car running in their own garage; or for ironing their shirts while still wearing them. They will call their congressmen if Internet service is interrupted for mere hours, but they will numbly gaze into their television sets and computer screens as their lives and country crumble around them. They dabble in foreign cultures to fill their own cultural void. They try on new religions for size, like clothing. They have appetites rather than ideals. They are consumers rather than citizens. They deem anything possible, yet nothing as necessary or forbidden. They live a life of instant gratification rather than enduring purpose or fulfillment. They regard parenthood as an inconvenience to be avoided, and to the extent they do reproduce, they shower their children with gifts rather than values. They disregard the elderly as stuck in the past, while they praise the boundless narcissism of youth. They gleefully submit to higher taxes in exchange for more governmental “services,” while they construe tax cuts as a “gift.” They deny the concept of sin or of any inherent flaw in human character. They are uncomfortable identifying anything as morally right or wrong. Through it all they recite the language of freedom the loudest, yet freedom terrifies them because it carries the burden of responsibility. What they truly seek is freedom from responsibility, so they lust for a strong leader to control them and remove that burden from their narrow shoulders.
Contrast this sort of person to the true lovers of liberty – who are cultural heirs rather than orphans – and it becomes apparent just how irreconcilable the two camps are. Lovers of liberty are grounded in reality; we do not regard history as merely the past, but rather as a fundamental part of our identity here and now. The triumphs and tragedies of our ancestors are not wasted on us. We keep entertainment in its place; it does not define us, and we do not take entertainers or their pronouncements seriously. We know the Constitution has its own meaning, independent of what the Supreme Court says. We acknowledge the flaws in human nature and keep perpetual guard against them, either in ourselves or others. Our word is our bond, and principles are non-negotiable regardless of the discomfort they might cause. We devote our lives to something larger than our fleeting desires, whether it be family, our community, work, God, or excellence in general. We revere the elderly and listen to what they have to say, even if we might disagree. We prize children and hope to pass America’s glory onto them. We do not blame others for our own mistakes or misfortune. We accept responsibility for our actions, so we do not yearn for a government or a politician to relieve that burden from us. We recognize that freedom and justice are fragile exceptions in human affairs that can easily vanish; as the heirs of that exceptional legacy, we do not shop around for other cultures to replace our own. We are the kind of people who created America, and we are the ones equipped to preserve it.
The good news is that despite the intense differences between us, we can pursue an immediate cultural divorce without having to wait for a political one. There is no need to hold an election, procure a court decree, or pass an ordinance of secession; instead, all we must do is re-assess the company we keep. With whom do you do business? Where do your children go to school? What are they learning there? Whom do you invite into your home? Whose home do you visit? What charities or other causes do you support with your money? What church do you attend? Where do you live? Can you move to a place where more people share your values? If we start asking these kinds of questions with sincerity, we can make a firm resolution to associate with people who are part of the solution while distancing ourselves from those who are part of the problem. And believe me, this will have a seismic effect on the landscape of our future, for any state or local government will be as good as the people supporting it.
