Mayor Rob Marlowe
Onto my national affairs soapbox…
As is her custom, my wife went to church Wednesday night. Little did we know that a similar gathering in South Carolina Wednesday night would end in a horrific mass murder. That murder shouldn’t have happened. As a society, we need to say “enough is enough” and work to stop the insanity that seems to result in mass murders on an all too regular basis.
I believe there are a lot of factors that contributed to this tragedy. Some of them may be beyond our ability to control, but some of them we can and should address. Here is my list, in no particular order:
We have witnessed the breakdown of the nuclear family. The biggest threat to traditional marriage is presented by men and women who treat marriage as if it were just an extended one night stand. Couples find it all to easy to throw up their hands and quit. The children in these broken marriages find themselves growing up without the benefit of the balance that comes with having both a father and a mother at home. Mr. Roof is the product of a broken family.
We need a return to the days when couples married for life and worked together to raise a family. A stronger religious fabric in our nation along with an economy that would let a single breadwinner earn enough to support their families would be a good start.
As a country, we have abandoned organized religion on a wholesale basis. Much of this may be self inflicted by the churches in question. Some churches have gone overboard with providing social services at the expense of preaching the Good News and actually standing for historic values. Others have gone to the other extreme and preach a “wealth gospel” message. If you buy into the wealth gospel message, it is easy to blame the poor for their lot in life.
Some churches preach that you are saved if God arbitrarily decides to pick you and you are screwed and going to Hell if he doesn’t. If we are merely puppets, then nothing we do matters. We can’t blame the Dylan Roofs, Adam Lanzas, and James Holmes of the world for their actions. This notion is toxic to the existence of our country. Each of us ARE responsible for our actions.
This country desperately needs a nationwide revival. All of our churches used to preach that there were a set of standards that we all need to adhere to. The Ten Commandments were valid thousands of years ago and they stand as a standard still worthy of our respect. We need to stand together and say with one voice that there ARE some standards that need to be met by everyone in society. Murder, lies, and racial hatred are not among them.
Our leaders at the state and federal levels have often resorted to the politics of division, trying to pit us one against another. All too often this has been done on the basis of race. We need to insist that our leaders work to improve the lives of everyone by addressing the issues that effect us all. I’d like to see them start by addressing our crumbling infrastructure, an expensive and broken health care system that largely ignores mental health and places most Americans one illness away from financial disaster, an economy that no longer works for the vast majority of Americans, and the decline of America as a global leader in technology and basic research.
We are better than this.
If the two major political parties aren’t up to the task, then maybe we should replace them. The founding fathers didn’t envision political parties or politics as a career and I believe they would have been horrified at the prospect of family dynasties owning seats in congress or the oval office.
We are better than this. We are not black, white, or brown. We are Americans!
Uber-patriot Sammy Hagar once put it well: “When we’re together, we’re the best. We think as one, there’s no contest.”
One needs only to look back at how Americans came together during World War II to see what happens when we focus. The Voice of America, indeed.
It is time we reject the politics of division that is tearing our country apart. We need to focus on the real issues facing our country.
I’ll return to New Port Richey specific issues next week.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor
Mr. Marlowe:
Couldn’t agree with you more. Going on 81 this year, I can say, without reservation, that this is not the America I grew up in. Having traveled extensively throughout this world during my military career, I see us following the path of many nations, that is, a society of rich and poor with little or no middle class. It is a shame but I see no effort on the part our greedy politicians to make any change – God Bless Us.
I fully agree. Another new characteristic is our personal autonomy, one that removes us from the societal scene to an extreme degree. Also, the churches need to take action to avoid this ‘Post-Christian’ era. The pastors must get into the present day arena of societal values. We need a kick ass ministry that isn’t afraid to bruise a few parishioners.
And, of course, it’s time to re-think what this country is really to be.
I would love to attend any discussions on these matters and others.
Congrats on your direct approach. Thank you Bob. Roger.
I completely agree with your profound statements. We need a massive revival across this country and around the world. We need to be reminded of the values and principles of our founders and our ancestors. They came together in this country to have freedom. They worked together and cared for each other. We need to get back to the better things of our past, so we can reclaim our future.