“When you stand for nothing, you fall for everything.”

–Alexander Hamilton

Recently, the CDC released the results of a 2021 study on teenage girls. Alarmingly, almost sixty percent experienced sadness/hopelessness, thirty percent contemplated suicide, and nearly twenty percent had been sexually abused.

Last month, when three Michigan State University students were shot and killed, it wasn’t even the first story reported on the national newscast I routinely watch. Contrast that to the Virginia Tech shootings in April of 2007. The country was rocked by that news. Sadly, we’ve grown accustomed to such events. That, in and of itself, is a sad commentary.

We immediately pivot and look for a reason–or perhaps an excuse–to explain such news. Blame the pandemic, guns, the nefarious influence of social media evil, or just explain it away as the dumbing down of our society.

Sure, our lockdown response to the pandemic has resulted in far more harm now than it did good then. Many realized it early on, and even the media and many of those in political power are finally acknowledging it now. But we can’t rewrite how we handled the pandemic; better that we expend our energy on helping individuals harmed socially, academically, and mentally.

Guns? They’ll always be around and in the hands of those who would never harm another human, as well as those who would willfully do just that. Perhaps it would serve us better if we focused on what it is that would cause an individual to pick up a weapon and intentionally kill someone. A learned response? A hopeless soul with no respect for the sanctity of life?

Social media and everything we interact with via an electronic screen are wonderful tools, but they can be used for evil. Children who are far too young to comprehend the permanency of words and images are using their screens inappropriately and to excess. A potential child predator, present virtually, lurks in any bedroom where a child uses a device. Kids are easily seduced to go down that insidious rabbit hole. They need parents to control and oversee their screen use or, better yet, prohibit it until the child is of an age to responsibly handle it.

We need to get back to the basics; back to the mores and values on which this country was based. That includes faith and a belief in God, the divine protector in whom our founding fathers put their ultimate trust. You don’t have to share the same faith I have, but each of us needs a spiritual anchor. Stand for something, or risk falling for anything.

In the same way, our children need family–that social construct in which moral living is displayed and the value of every person is taught. Again, your family doesn’t have to look just like mine, but some version of family is fundamental to the rearing of a child. As I’ve said before, studies confirm the arc of success for kids is to get an education, find a job, get married, and then have children–in that order. Are there exceptions? Of course. But absent that order, one’s chances for success in life are greatly diminished.

We’ve lost our moral compass. We live in a society where anything goes, even ideas the majority of Americans likely consider outlandish and illogical. It used to be that if you objected, you were just “old fashioned.” But now, if you speak out against something, you’re a hater–an outlier labeled as one of the hate terms ending in the suffix “-ist” or the syllable “-phobe.” You know the words. So, mainstream America whimpers, while the fringe representing the far right and far left are the loudest voices sucking all the oxygen out of the room.

I believe our nation can get back on track, but it won’t be easy. After all, did you ever think you’d be governed by an administration that went after a Catholic organization of women whose stated purpose is to assist the elderly poor? Did you think you’d see elected officials conspiring with social media titans to quiet the free speech rights of faith-based organizations?

The government hasn’t just crossed the line separating church and state, it has impinged on the guaranteed freedom of its citizens to live their faith. This is antithetical to our Bill of Rights.

Things will only change if we speak up and take a stand.