Is morality in America dead? Two recent events may suggest that it is time to write the epitaph for a shared understanding of morality. Major General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which makes him the highest ranking military officer in the country, said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, “I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts.”
Tony BeamGeneral Pace made these comments in the context of a discussion about whether or not he supported the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bans open displays of homosexual behavior but does not disqualify homosexuals who keep their behavior to themselves. His comments caused a fire storm because apparently the word “immoral” has been relegated to the politically correct closet by our morally relativistic society.
Later, on the O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly interviewed a mom and a daughter about the behavior of college students during spring break. The segment featured film footage of college students engaging in dangerous drinking games and open displays of sexual behavior. After talking about how these acts had progressed downward over the years, O’Reilly asked the mom what she would do if she discovered that her daughter was taking part in the kind of things she was seeing displayed on the screen. The mother couldn’t bring herself to condemn the actions as immoral. When a mother sees open displays of immoral behavior and can’t find it in her heart to call it what it is, we are well on our way to seeing the death of morality.
God has certainly not left us in the dark concerning the days in which we live. Paul told Timothy, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -” (2 Tim. 3:1-4 NASV).
Our culture can’t survive without a shared understanding of the difference between right and wrong and the will to stand for what is right.