The demise of the world as we know it

I was sent a broadcast from Ben Stein. It hit home. Hard. Because it is EXACTLY how I feel and what I believe. This is it:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding 911) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide).. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us..

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

I guess I'm getting old too. I observe all the things that made our world relatively safe, respectful and functional for thousands of years, which have now been rejected and discarded because they are not politically correct. I was taught these things by a mother who believed in God. I believe in God. I believe the Ten Commandments are worth keeping. I believe if everyone believed this and observed what is written in the Ten Commandments, the world would be a better place. If everyone believed this, children would be taught to obey and respect authority. There would be consequences to poor choices, no matter the age of the perpetrator. Obviously, a 2 year old would not be disciplined the same way as an adult, but talk really and truly is cheap if not backed up with action. Without consequences (painful ones are the ones we learn from the best) we just go back and do it again. It's why a co-worker''s 15 year old son, who has been charged with aggravated assault, has gone back to the schoolmate who pressed charges and told him, "Next time, I'm going to kill you." The reason? The boy's lawyer told him that as a 15 year old, he would completely get off on the charges laid. What has the boy learned? He has learned that he can do what he pleases. How does this help to fine tune his conscience so that he knows right from wrong? How will this turn him into a functional adult to whom we want to turn our world over to?

I disciplined my children. I tried to make the punishment fit the crime, but most of the time, a few slaps across the buttocks or a slap across the hand worked wonders. After child had calmed down, we would discuss the discipline and what led to it. They almost never repeated their mistakes.

Years ago, I went to a forum sponsored by our federal government against corporal discipline. The forum was led by a woman who had no hand in raising her own children. Her children were raised by a nanny. She continually referred to spanking as hitting, which I found offensive. When I was a child my mother spanked me while my father hit me. My mother spanked me because she wanted to correct me. I loved her and wanted to please her, so when she was upset with me, I strove not to do what had led to the discipline ever again. My father, on the other hand, hit me. He didn't like me, so he only wanted to vent and hurt me. My betterment was not his motive. Children are not stupid. They understand the difference between spanking and hitting. I went home from that forum and asked my then-teenage sons if they felt I had hit them. They laughed at me. They told me they'd deserved far more spankings than they had gotten.

I think our world has become a horrible place to live. It's not that this world has ever been perfect, but it's getting exponentially worse. I can remember as a child that when you left for work for the day, you didn't necessarily lock your doors. You also left your door unlocked overnight. Bicycles could be left unlocked in the front yard in plain view without fear of being stolen. Vehicles were left unlocked. Babies could be left in cars or strollers for the minute it took to run into a store or post office without fear of the baby being gone when you came back, or without fear of someone calling the authorities on you because you were a "bad" parent. If I tripped over a crack on the sidewalk and fell, I picked myself up (embarrassed, of course), but I wouldn't have dreamed of suing someone for my clumsiness. The government didn't interfere in my life like it does now. Adults were considered responsible enough to make decisions regarding children, seatbelts, protective wear, etc. We made our decisions and dealt with the consequences if there were any. Explicit and graphic sex, violence and coarse language were not permitted on any air waves. I liked that. People were friendlier, less stressed and less angry. I miss that.

I wish we would all wake up to reality and make the changes needed to turn our world around. I would love to see a return to the values that made Canada a great land.