Daniel J. Pipes

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My Gloom; Back to Sept.10

Reader comment on item: My Gloom: Back to September 10

Submitted by Dan Rusen (Canada), Dec 21, 2005 at 03:23

Dr. Pipes,


You are right to be gloomy. America seems to be ignoring what happened only a few years ago. Worse than that, the forces of appeasement are rising up daily. It is disturbing to see the President ridiculed and vilified daily in ever media in every country. But it is a fertile garden in which these noxious weeds are growing. Appeasement and soft-pedalling of our enemy are the byproducts of our dependence on oil, bolstered by an all-pervasive and even holstile attitude of consumption, dissension, and materialism - never seen before in any country's history, except maybe in Rome before the fall.

America is not the same confident and unified place as it was fifty years ago. At that time the focus was on community and morality (maybe to a fault); but how plain it is to see the change in attitude, to observe how slack we have become. Only forty years ago mere gambling was a crime - as was abortion, homosexuality, prostitution, and espousing the beliefs of our enemy. Our heroes are TV and movie personalities from the world of make-believe, not stalwart thinkers, developers and inventors who add measures of wealth and prosperity for all. All of these erstwhile evils and newfound folly are now routinely ignored, even applauded, at the highest levels of government and the judiciary - in every western country.

Yes, we baby boomers have lived a life of ease and plenty; but so secure are we in our unassailable might that we have lost the discipline, resolve and spiritual strength needed to sustain such a lifestyle. Economically we have mortgaged our future beyond sanity. Spiritually we live in a vacuum. I fear greatly for my children and grandchildren....and those of everyone else.

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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