Proverbs 27:6 says “faithful are the wounds of a friend” and
Os Guinness’s latest offering A Free
People’s Suicide : Sustainable Freedom and the American Future is an
extended observation of the American experiment from the point of view of a
longtime friend who is both an evangelical and British that is both critical
and constructive and I believe deserves a hearing especially among those who
have grown concerned or disenchanted with the current political climate of
America. Guinness makes the case that
America is currently moving in the same direction as the fallen empires of
Rome, Greece, Britain, France, and Spain and needs to take stock in that fact
if it does not want to crumble and go into great decline. Like the great empires of the past we have
overextended ourselves through wars to spread democracy and runaway
spending. But Guinness speaks to another
overextension in American society that if unchecked, will result in the end of
our experiment in national freedom as we know it. What we have failed to renew is the public
virtue that supports our democratic institutions. Our founding fathers designed our republic to
give the people two kinds of freedom: the freedom from government tyranny in
your personal life (as enshrined in things such as freedom of religion and
speech) and the freedom to become what
you aspire to be (hence public education, civil rights). But for both of these freedoms to be
sustainable, the founders understood that the people must be virtuous in
character. This character, identified as
‘habits of the heart’ by the author, would be developed and reinforced in the
family, churches (and all religious institutions), public schools, and
communities. Although America has never
done this perfectly, there has been an acceleration of erosion of all these
institutions, sometimes through the courts, sometimes through efforts of
atheists and secularists, and through the corrosive effects of material
wealth. Thus our freedoms are really
only supported by the interpretation of the constitution and laws which can be
subject to change or withdrawal. We
emphasize today our rights and our society demands them in ever greater
amounts. Freedom is freedom from
interference and moral restraint, which will eventually undermine our entire
nation. Summed up, Guinness prescribes a
national renewal of education that not only trains for the workforce of the
global economy, but trains our children in citizenship. He also calls upon all institutions and
businesses to rebuild their idea of serving not just their stockholders but the
good of society. Finally, that spiritual
values and religion be respected in the public square and political discourse
and not be privatized. Our freedom was
attained by the Revolution, it was organized in our Constitution, but it must
be retained in the hearts of the American people through a continual
renewal. With freedom comes
responsibility.
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