Good Times

I believe it was shortly after World War II that America and the larger Western world began to change.  But the trigger was not some insidious communist plot, nor atheistic conspiracy–it was America’s own success.

The Second World War gave birth to technologies and to a post-war economy that would see the middle class soar to never-seen-before heights of comfort and prosperity.

The US Census bureau data in graph 2 below shows how family incomes steadily increased after the war (Doubling between 1947 and 1977 (¹).)

The TV age had arrived, as shown in the graph 3 below (²). From 9% of American households having a television in 1950 to 87% by 1960, the television had become a status symbol and a portal to the culture.

But even more importantly, the television had become the perfect medium to sell the latest products to a prosperous middle class and to showcase the idealistic culture built on this new materialism.

America’s living rooms were filled with the promise of happiness, social status, and leisure time if the viewer only purchased the items on offer.  Shortly thereafter, America’s homes were filled with the items on offer.

I believe it was a message that was easily received as a reward for the deprivations of the Great Depression and War time eras that preceded it, but it hid the seeds of America’s self-destruction.

In Us We Trust

The 1950s are often viewed as a golden age in America and with good reason.  The people still held to their faith, sense of innocence and social standards of the past.  They enjoyed a wealth of material goods and new pastimes that were previously only affordable to the rich (e.g. Travel, boating).  Freedom of mobility gave birth to suburban living, where each house became a showcase of its owner’s prosperity.

America no doubt thrived economically because of this materialistic living, but she also suffered socially.

Prosperity began to diminish the faith and trust people showed in God.   As is common throughout history, when people have plenty and live in peace, they see very little need to turn to God for help.  They may profess to believe in God, but they trust in their own power, wisdom and control, which is exactly what America and the West began to do.

Prosperity also began to erode the morality of Americans.  The envy, greed and selfishness of money began to create rivalries and separation between neighbors, friends, family members, spouses and strangers.

Nearly 2000 years ago, the Bible warned of the evil money can bring and since then, countless human beings have fallen into money’s trap by “Loving” it too much.

As America wandered from true faith and trust in God, to the new materialism, the fractures and wounds created by this new master demanded correction.  Unwilling to change their lifestyle and unwilling to accept the truth taught in the Bible, America turned to her own moral relativity for the cures to new social problems.

Yet these were no cures at all but simply ways to deny the self-inflicted wounds and carry the damage into the future.

Divorce became the answer to selfishness in marriage.  Perpetual dating became the answer to avoiding commitment.  Childless hedonism became the answer to parenthood.  Passing the failing student became the answer to hurting their self-esteem.  Gun control became the answer to murderous behavior.  Abortion became the answer to unwanted children.  Name calling became the means of avoiding debate.  Political correctness became the means of avoiding the truth.  And so on.

As new generations were born into America’s prosperity and media-driven culture over the last half of the 20^th century, the erosion of the culture’s morality was passed on to them.  Children were taught and observed this new moral relativity and then compounded it with new fallacies of their own as they grew.

A lot of people refer to these changes as “The generation gap”, but I believe it isn’t a gap as much as it’s a widening chasm that each generation falls farther into.

Final Thoughts

The direction of America and other nations today might seem bleak.  With so many people choosing a destructive path over a godly one, it might even seem hopeless.   However, we must remember as America’s founding fathers did, that it is God who created the entire universe and us with a purpose.

For God nothing is impossible, and in the Gospel of Matthew, the Bible confirms God’s power to save us from ourselves:

The road to where we are today has been built on the emptiness of decades without God as our strength.   It is the road to destruction as the book of Proverbs so eloquently puts it:

The road to purpose, fulfillment, truth, true happiness and salvation is ahead of us, but only if we once again trust in God.