10/11/2002

Is America In Decline?

Studying history often casts fresh light on the present and future. I recently received a thoughtful letter reflecting on the notion that the U.S. is in a state of moral decline. Do you agree or disagree?

Dear Beth:

"Looking back on my high school life and then at the students I teach now, I don't think their morals have declined much, if by morality we mean they would like to be worthwhile people and not gratuitously harm others.

"If what we mean by morality is self-destructive behavior - such as promiscuous sexual expression, drug use and violence – I do think students today are more at risk than my classmates and I were thirty years ago. Not that all those things weren't present at my high school, but the change in lethality from treatable infections to AIDS, beer to crack, and fists to automatic weapons, makes the stakes much higher.

"It's troubling to meet teens, too, who feel that life has nothing to offer them past immediate gratification. Our present society seems to be astoundingly hypocritical about all these subjects, and I believe we are reaping the consequences. For example, we have the highest teen pregnancy rate and the least sex education and contraceptive availability of any industrialized nation – by far. We have lots of data to show that sex education in early adolescence, along with free, easily available contraception, leads to dramatically reduced teen pregnancy rates, yet we don't do enough of it. In our pluralistic culture, which includes many groups that find this idea repugnant, we simply can't seem to get the consensus that people can in, say, Denmark or Norway. But to blame pregnant teenagers, in light of our few timid attempts to give them information and resources, is really unfair.

"I don't have any simple answers, but I do have a few ideas. I think the high level of materialism in our culture has warped many values. Mass media, too, has eroded our ideas of privacy and dignity in a way that makes self-respect more difficult to attain. We try to fight these trends in our household. We don't watch TV or allow Nintendo – much to the disgust of our teenagers. We don't trade in our cars for newer models every couple of years. We try to focus on other pleasures and values. We have been married once, monogamously, for 20 years. Our kids do chores and live with budgets. We expect them to treat us and other adults politely and with respect. And we do this without believing that religion should be taught in the schools. We believe in the separation of church and state.

"Looking at the big picture, I think that living in a pluralistic democratic society like ours is enormously challenging. It calls for the very best in us, and its rewards, if we can pull it off, will be worth our efforts. I can't think of anything more worth working for. I believe that most young people want a true challenge – something to test their mettle.

"My students tell me – often years after they graduate – that they remember class discussions about what our country is supposed to be about and about the trails they are blazing or can blaze if they have courage and hope for the future, in which the American dream is for everybody. Kids don't want to be apathetic and cynical. They want to look ahead to better times, and they want the support of our generation to do so."

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LINKS:

• Moral Decline in America: A Teen's Opinion
• Quantifying America's Decline, by William Bennett
• America's Astounding Destiny (Rise to Greatness)

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.