I agree Ox.
The spiritual core of our nation died in the 60's. The hedonists have won because they identify the good with the pleasent. That was one of the first things that Plato rejected.
The break down in ideaology can be seen in how one responds to the phrase "Life is short."
Leftwing hedonists and extreme liberatrians would say that this means one needs to have as much pleasure as possible. Lucretius is their muse.
Authentic Conservatives would say this means we need to spend our time doing good with our short lives. Recognizing that the pleasures of the body are temporary, we realize that they are not the supreme end of man.
Another problem with our age is that people no longer use their minds. I sit in class after class where people simply ignore, fail to grasp, or buy the assumptions underlying all of the ideas. They never think about asking why we have an amendment for equal protection, they simply take it as a given. They are like me who switch on the light without ever caring how it gets there.
Of course the problem arises mainly when the lights go out...
Thanks for your inisghtful comments, WB!
Now, I've got to get back to work. Tonight it's Polybius!
Commenting by HaloScan
