A MORALIST

I’ve described myself as a latter-day moralist—an unpopular profession in an increasingly cynical and secular world. 

A moralist was, in earlier times ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’ . . . ‘the same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. . . he was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light’ (John1:23, 7, 8 Holy Bible, KJV).  The moralist of old provided a witness and a warning.  He was a counterpoint to common culture. He (or she) chose to stand on higher ground, to resist the pull toward popularity or self-indulgence, to try to lift and lighten, to soothe and strengthen, to benefit and bless.  Such a person was not the ideal but believed in focusing on the ideal—and sought to try to influence others to embrace the values and virtues that led to that ideal—a  productive, acceptable, and happier life. 

Unfortunately not only is it, in our time, unpopular to assert that one is concerned with morals, values, character—even principles, especially ‘eternal principles’—Isn’t he presumptuous!—but it is considered pompous, ‘holier than thou,’ unseemly, and not ‘politically correct’ with many of our supposedly more liberal friends.  Consequently, one who does so may be subtly maligned or at least quickly dismissed.  For who does he think he is?

Ironically, in the name of ‘tolerance,’ which many secularists enthrone as the highest value, they are intolerant to those who are so bold to assert that the hedonistic pursuit of ‘self’ is not in the top three, or maybe even in the top ten, of acceptable life-pursuits of one inclined to respect and value traditional Christian or even traditional ‘Western’ values.

 

The problem is that so many of our young are not even acquainted with classical values.  They are not aware that work, sacrifice for others’ benefit, the values espoused in the Boy Scout oath (don’t they laugh at that!) were what brought this nation to ‘its finest hour.’ Neither are they aware that the dethronement of these values is the cause of many of our most pressing problems—personally and societally.

   

And so, I view myself as a spokesman for what was once a very common set of values and standards of decency that respected life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  But life (Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”  (John 10:10)) is not valued if it is killed intrauterinely or as a terrorist act of revenge or as an act of lust by deranged men; liberty is not paid for without self-restraint and sacrifice and does not come without responsibility; and happiness does not come with guarantee or entitlement but rather by a clear-conscience and the experience of serving others.

 

Morals are no longer part of the public conversation except from certain pulpits.  Old Schooler seeks, in its very modest way, to change that.

Our moral compass needs reset.  We need to take back our social institutions from the cultural deconstructionists and put the heart back into our demoralized older generation and our younger generation who have had it carved out of them. C. S. Lewis wrote in The Abolition of Man; “We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise.  We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.  We castrate and then bid the geldings be fruitful.”

We need more men and women who are counterpoint spokespersons –more who are not afraid of crying in the wilderness of a culture and social institutions gone terribly astray.