Freedom: the American Disorder

Lost in America: Freedom, the American disorder
         You're an idiot! By you, I mean those Americans who think they can do anything they want; Americans who twist reason into some grotesque form to justify their own actions. What gives them the right to act the way they do? American freedom has lead to a society concerned with little more than consequences; racing ever faster, climbing over anyone in their way, first to nowhere...and then they flip you the bird! What's missing from the mindset of the contemporary American? A universe...and something really, really small. One tiny, little bitty, can't package it, can't stamp it, can't sell it...virtue. Let's pick one, politeness. Tiny. Don't stop there: courage, compassion, fortitude, forgiveness, and forbearance. Genius! Without virtue, American freedom leads to anarchy: social disorder. We have the power, and the responsibility, to change America by changing one tiny little thing in each of us: virtue.
         I know what they're saying, I'm the idiot. Nothing's wrong with them and nothing's wrong with American freedom. Nothing...really? Crime is up, banks are taking everyone's homes, and people are just downright rude! So what's the problem? America is free, it sounds crazy but consider freedom the first pothole on the American highway. Americans have been free so long; they seldom stop to consider just what freedom is: free will. Unfortunately, free will empowers Americans to choose right or wrong, good or evil; the choice is theirs.
         Okay, what makes Americans think they have the right to act like they do? Both the Constitution and God grant them free will. Thomas Jefferson made it very clear when he declared all Americans have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (Jefferson). Sounds like an American identity to me. And what about God? Almighty God could have created a world without freedom. Like pets, humanity could have been locked inside a gilded cage, safe from evil, safe from ourselves. This was not his plan, "a world containing creatures that are significantly free is more valuable" (Peterson et al 306). Just as God has the power to create caged creatures he has the power to create free creatures. What God cannot create are free creatures that only do what is right. They must do what is right freely. What systems help guide Americans to make free choices that are right?
         Americans employ two strategies to keep themselves on the straight and narrow: the carrot and the stick. Government and the Church are society's models used to exact the law. In both models, the intention is to motivate the individual's actions by threat of punishment. Well, not only. People are motivated to act 'right' because they have to. [This doesn't sound like freedom to me.] What about laws that are broken? What about laws that fail, when justice is not met? Can the police enforce the law when freedom is holding one arm behind their backs? In steps the Church. When asked, "Do you believe in God?" 92% of Americans answer, "Yes" (Newport). That's 287 million souls for the Church to guide. With smoke and mirrors, the Church offers love in one hand, and wrath in the other. Both the Church and the individual call upon these two positions as they see fit. Forgiveness, like a get out of jail free card, undermines the system of justice by diminishing the threat of punishment. Both systems begin with questionable intentions and end in failure.
         Utopia, land of the free...America must be doing great. FBI statistics disagree. According to crime rates, America is spiraling out of control. Uniform crime reporting statistics reported 288,460 violent crimes in the United States in 1960. In 2009, this number soared to 1,318,398 cases. Factoring in the populations, the rate in 1960 was 160.9 compared to 429.4 in 2009, an increase of nearly three times in only 49 years (UCR 2009). If this trend continues, the year 2058 may experience a crime rate of 1146.5. That's 3.5 million violent crimes when factored with today's population. Anarchy.
         The American dream...home ownership. Who really owns American homes? The banks do. Unethical behavior in America's financial institutions has lead to a housing crisis. Citizens have been driven from their homes and into tents with nearly one million homes seized by banks in 2010 (Associated Press 2010). Although charged with predatory lending and fraud , Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide, Bernie Madoff, and other CEOs are simply counting their losses, doing their time, and moving on to new strategies leaving Americans cold, hungry, and broken (Time). Angered, some Americans are biting mad.
         The recent downswing in the US economy is enough to frustrate every American. Although a convenient scapegoat, the economy alone cannot be left holding the bag on rudeness. Self-absorbed communication gadgets, instant gratification, single parents, and the media are each blamed for the rise in rudeness in America. Road rage, bad service, cursing, loud and annoying cell phone calls, and rude cyber messaging top the list of the rudest American behaviors (Farkas).
         At the risk of sounding rude, American freedom is failing. How could America's founding fathers and God have been so terribly wrong? What devices are waiting to be invented to keep Americans in line? What new technologies might be implanted into the American brain to decide right from wrong, apply an electric jolt, or simply prevent the wrong doing in the first place? Sounds like a science fiction movie gone wrong. Like the police and the Church, imbedded chips and drugs are only capable of controlling. Why can't Americans control themselves? They are free to choose right, free to act right, and free to live right. It's all about freedom with accountability. Own your actions, stand behind your choices, and build upon a rock-solid foundation of virtue. Anything that is built must have a base; that which it draws upon for strength and shape. Virtue is this base and is seen, classically, as "a trait of character that is to be admired and desired because it is a constituent of human excellence" (Lawhead 488). Virtue is excellent character: courage, compassion, honesty, integrity, wisdom...consideration, dependability, gentleness, generosity...love, knowledge, righteousness, respect...
         It is suggested that the universe is a balance of all things. What then balances virtue? Understanding the quality of a virtue, helps with understanding its opposite: vice. What is the relationship between virtue and vice? An example is bravery. Bravery's opposite is cowardice. Simple enough, there are also qualities associated with virtue that compliment, or intermediate virtue and vice. Bravery and caution are complimentary, if caution is not taken during a brave action, it becomes reckless. Recognizing the relationships between virtue and vice helps Americans to make the right choice. How else can virtue be explained?
         Some aspects of life do not need deep explanation. Fire burns, understanding the reasons for this are not necessary to avoid pain. Similarly, virtue is obvious. Imagine sitting in front of two televisions at the airport. On one screen Mother Theresa is blessing the dying, on the other Hitler is screaming and hateful [idiot]. One who saves, one who kills. One is admired, the other despised. Few observe a truly good person and not recognize their value. Understanding that virtue is an excellent character trait is a great start, how else can virtue be understood?
         Life would be so simple if archeologists had unearthed an ancient granite monolith with a neon sign flashing: "I am God...this is right...that is wrong." Unfortunately, life is not this clear. What about those who do not believe in God? An atheist recognizes the difference between Hitler and Mother Theresa no differently than a theist. Virtues may exist in and of themselves, innately, built into the universe. Americans understand virtues for their qualities. Their minds and hearts are capable of both distinguishing between right and wrong, and rationally deciding which qualities they should surround themselves with. Observation and understanding, though, are not enough. How does one become virtuous?
         As Americans journey through life, they build character. Like good and evil, right and wrong, they may build a strong or weak character. Aristotle suggested virtue is two-fold: intellectual and moral (Aristotle). Intellectual virtue is acquired by teaching, moral virtue is the outcome of practice. Humans are not born brave, and do not become brave by learning what bravery is, rather, doing brave acts makes them become brave. Developing better individual virtue seems beneficial, how do virtues affect the whole?
         Consider the balance of the universe as a giant scale; tipping the scale to good from evil simply requires one more good act than bad. Virtues, therefore, have the potential to shape the individual and thereby shape the universe. In this way, one simple act of charity could alter the universe and everything within it. This is not a new concept, The Kabbalah teaches, "What God demands of man is participation in the vast drama of the dynamic occurrences in the divine world" (Kabbalah: 55). The fate of the divine powers is thus relegated to the hands of human beings. Ancient minds are not alone when contemplating the role of virtue in the universe, others take a more quantum approach to this idea. In The Elements of the Soul, by Sam Adettiwar, the universe is set into motion by volition, an ever expanding, multiplying, set of connections, or switches. The balance of the universe is controlled by wholesome or unwholesome volition. This, Adettiwar explains, is how humans might shape the universe: "soul mechanics." His list of wholesome and unwholesome volition is remarkably similar to lists of virtues: loving-kindness, compassion, and non-hatred (Adettiwar). So many great minds have considered the role of virtue on the individual, society, and the universe from so many different perspectives, philosophical and religious, how are virtues cultivated?
         The United States Air Force Academy cadets live by a code, We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, so help me God (USAFA). Retired Colonel Alexander Dwelis tells us, "The Honor Code establishes a base line for behavior. It is more than a set of rules. It is a system of behavior cadets become enveloped within. They affect it and it affects them. The Honor Code is a life choice which reaches far beyond the Academy" (Dwelis). The Honor Code is an ethical commitment and promise which extends much further than a set of rules. It becomes a life choice: a personal and public choice. Cadets at each of the military service academies make this promise along with some American universities which have adopted similar codes of conduct. When asked, does the Honor Code cultivate a better person? Colonel Dwelis responds, "Virtues of honesty instilled by the Honor Code are carried beyond the Air Force Academy and into the world making it better: more honest."
         Few join the Air Force, and in the absence of a stone tablet, Americans must learn to be virtuous. Obeying God and observing the universe are awesome, but they can also become virtuous by inheriting virtue from their families and culture. Mirror neurons in the human brain enable an infant to 'mimic' the emotions of adults, insuring their survival. Knowing how to read and repeat emotions may not be the only survival strategy infants inherit from their parents. Understanding good and evil, right and wrong can be no less important; humanity's survival depends upon it. Children trust their parents, and therefore, trust their teachings, parents in turn have trusted their culture and the countless generations that have come before. One skipped generation could spell disaster for all. Faith and culture may be the safest way to pursue virtue.
         Role models, or archetypes can also help Americans relate to a specific virtue or vise. The hero, the temptress, the brain, and the athlete archetypes are contrasted against the victim, the chaste, the joker, and the weakling. Relating to these characters builds your own. Archetypes and role models give examples of excellence humanity can then 'mimic'. [What would Jesus do?]
         America must look to the future, to the children. How can Americans create a brighter future? They must teach freedom with responsibility. Consider a teenager about to take out the family car, certainly rules have been established to keep both the teenager and other drivers safe, yet more important are the moral principles behind the wheel. Road rage is not simply an example of 'road anger', it is an example of disrespect, impatience, hatred, and violence: all vices. Replace those vices with consideration, patience, kindness, and non-violence and 'road rage' ceases to exist. God has been locked out of the classroom; the police are ineffective; this leaves American children on their own merits, with virtue. Who could argue against teaching our children honesty, courage, trustworthiness, kindness, and integrity? Generating Expectations for Student Achievement is but one program paving the way to a brighter tomorrow by teaching our youth to reach for excellence (Zhumkhawala). Unfortunately, many programs become lost in their own agenda. GESA, for example, bills themselves as "one of the most effective programs for increasing achievement for all students." Their program, though, focuses primarily on correcting gender biases in teachers. Students rise higher as a reaction to [more equal] expectations placed upon them, not because they are taught ambition, benevolence, diligence, or perseverance. Once again, virtues enable Americans to do what is right freely, without being controlled.
         America...land of the free? Currently the price for freedom is freedom itself. American laws, the commandments, and programs we feed our children are but attempts to control the masses, and they are not working. Striving for human excellence is a better solution. Excellent humans don't break the law, or lie, or flip you the bird. Virtues are the base of human excellence and are beneficial to the individual, society, and perhaps the universe, therefore, Americans should be interested in striving toward this excellence. Become the 'American hero', raise your child to become the 'savior of America', and hope that others may learn by these examples. In the end, we realize that freedom and America are inseparable. Freedom, though, must  be built upon a foundation that is rock solid. Americans have the power, and the responsibility, to change the universe by changing a tiny little thing: virtue.








Works Cited
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