By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net) A recent article in the London Times discusses how British schools will now no longer teach right from wrong. Initially, teaching moral values was considered the province of the family. But in an age of latch-key kids and two-earner households, schools have assumed the role. They teach secular moral relativism and moral equivalency as THE only philosophy of life that has merit, ridiculing traditional Christian values.
Recently, two American soldiers were kidnapped and beheaded without a peep from the media. The rhetorical question: “Where was the outrage, considering the fuss at Abu Ghraib?” The answer is more than the media’s agenda to undermine the Administration’s efforts in the Middle East. It also has to do with this moral relativist vacuum.
There is a massive assault on Western Civilization by Islam. The news is greeted with a yawn and a “whatever!” The last two generations of Americans have been taught by the Left that our unique gift of liberty and prosperity is to be taken for granted and that it is no better than any other society. Barbarous depredations by Islamists are greeted with moral equivalency: “well, we did the same thing to them 500 years ago, so you can’t blame them!” The current greatest virtue is “tolerance and understanding”, not exactly an overriding principle that inspires people to give their lives. Images of violence make little impression on a generation weaned on violent video games. One can always go “Game Over” and exit to the refrigerator.
On one side, we have the Islamists who would give the world the choice “convert or die!” On the other side are free men of faith that will fight! The secularists are caught in an unsustainable middle, not really understanding the problem, mistakenly believing they can opt out.