Today used to be called Decoration Day and though the emphasis was on sacrifices of military persons, the day was also given to visiting cemeteries for remembrance of deceased family members. Town squares commonly were sites of programs, with speakers on patriotic themes. We were expected to say something about the great history of the country and suggest promise for the future. The purpose was to focus on freedom’s ideals. How does anyone, in ignorance, suggest what the future may be? I was invited to be speaker on a number of occasions – none for this purpose after 1976. After 1976 observances shifted from old traditions in approaches.
We must be sensitive to the signs, the nuances that are information factors. The highly regarded football player, Lawrence Taylor, revealed some of his secrets that made him an effective New York Giants linebacker in the 1980s. He found it easier to read the white players than the black. If the lineman was going to move forward in a block for a ball carrier, the white under his fingernails gave evidence that his weight was slightly forward preparing to move directly forward to block for a runner. If nails were pinkish, he was resting slightly backward, so to pull out for the purpose of blocking for a pass or to pull and offer blocking in some other part of the line.
In society, and in its parts, there are the signs of the fingernails. Some persons take seriously what those signs are. If they do they can predict some of the things that will likely occur. Such signs are detectable in: parent/child relationships; duties/choices followed by citizens; labor and management business; balance and imbalance in social habits; prudence in money management, morals, recreations, and education; and, the like. Attitude about problem solving in society is a fingernail factor. If the general population is taken by the distraction of shallow interests, as the Romans ultimately became with the circuses in ancient times, the future for our people will go in similar direction – the decay of human meaning, morals, achievement, order, and problem solving.
National life may be on the slippery slope, threatening to go downward. With wisdom we climb the mountains of achievement, goodness and justice. With relaxation we tend to pause and then continue the climb, or slip sideways (laterally) at first, and then downward or up to recovery. Events may give dramatic pause, as did the September 11, 2001 attack on Washington, New York and Pennsylvania. There was a serious look at life, with open self-critique. Comics canceled their programs, programs that seemed inappropriate in national tragedy. Families were accented. Public questions were raised about shallowness, even immorality, in American life. Within a few weeks it was all over. Television became a bit raunchier than before. Las Vegas casinos, which had followed several years of family entertainment returned to their sensual formats. Business thievery, on a grand scale, was revealed at the same time. The society poised to support higher principles, fell back. Evidence currently indicating guilt informs us about the future. That evidence, at this writing, suggests that we are on a slippery slope. Life’s event markers are not only reminders of the past, but alert us for the future. . . . . Later edits of this page found few improvements. Even so we can change things. It is to be remembered that there are periods in society when ideals will not succeed. There is never a period when the Christian community should not put forth effort, resources, and influence, including prayer, for personal and social improvement. Such is the personal expression of a belief in righteousness for nations. God’s concern is not with human success, but faithfulness to righteousness. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020