Choices, Outcomes, Problems in Society, and Who Is to Solve Them

The negative state or the negative aspects of our society and nation today… what contributed to it or caused it, is complex but it is also simple. To the degree that we as a people have not followed the Commandments of God, our society has lost His favor and protection and blessing.

There are many actions and lifestyles and ways of doing things that bring about negative consequences both immediately and within or upon future generations. We have poverty and families that are not earning enough to live comfortably. And we want to help those who would go without. In many cases those who need help might not have needed that help if they or others had made different choices. This does not mean that help should not be extended, but that the long-term solution must include encouraging people to make better choices and learning the true principles of prosperity and following them as a society.

The situations we are in are not just caused by our choices but also by the choices and example of our leaders. Values (in contradistinction to virtues) are not inherently good. Some values are beneficial and some are negative. And when isolated from other virtues or taken beyond where they should be taken or put in the wrong priority they can become vices. Infidelity in marriage ruins society. Sexual intimacy outside of marriage is detrimental to society, to families and individuals. One of the best things we can do to get rid of poverty and violence is to have a society where men and women marry, are true to each other, and stay together and raise their families together. Many of the problems in our society today come from not keeping the basic principles of marriage between man and woman who stay together and raise their family together in complete fidelity.

Another detriment to society is contention and the stirring up of people in anger against other people.

Another is the lack of self-reliance and personal responsibility. People sometimes shift the responsibility they have to care for each other and for their community and friends and neighbors, and place that responsibility instead in government. Or the government takes that responsibility from the people, thus hurting both the people who could have blessed others and the people who could have been blessed by their friends and neighbors.

When government tries to what we should be doing, the result is the degradation of individuals and communities and the whole nation. Character is lost. Inefficiencies abound. Prosperity decreases. Love and familial and societal bonds degrade. The government is no smarter than we are. And even if it were, freedom and liberty and what it means to be human requires that we as family and friends and neighbors and communities help one another and make our decisions and govern ourselves and solve our problems and seek help from others. We are not beasts to be managed by a master called government.