State
of the Union: Is America at Risk of Implosion? State of the Union: Is America at Risk of Implosion?
[State of the
Union: Is America at Risk of Implosion? By Joel C. Rosenberg] "(Washington,
D.C., January 25, 2012) -- Two words jumped out at me in listening to the
President's State of the Union address, and the Republican response: "collapse"
and "implode." Did they strike you, too?
"In 2008, the house of cards collapsed," President Obama told the nation. "We
learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn't afford or understand
them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people's money. Regulators
had looked the other way, or didn't have the authority to stop the bad behavior.
It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis
that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent,
hardworking Americans holding the bag." The President did not use the occassion
to offer a plan to reform Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, or end deficits
of $1 trillion or more, or deal with the $65 trillion of unfunded liabilities
hurtling towards us. Yet he vigorously made the case that "the state of our
Union is getting stronger."
Is the President right? Are things improving significantly enough to avoid
another -- and possibly far worse -- collapse of the American economy? Not
according to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. In his response to the President,
Daniels argued that "the mortal enemies of Social Security and Medicare are
those who, in contempt of the plain arithmetic, continue to mislead Americans
that we should change nothing. Listening to them much longer will mean that
these proud programs implode, and take the American economy with them. It will
mean that coming generations are denied the jobs they need in their youth and
the protection they deserve in their later years." He added: "On these evenings,
Presidents naturally seek to find the sunny side of our national condition. But
when President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave,
he must know in his heart that this is not true....In three short years, an
unprecedented explosion of spending, with borrowed money, has added trillions to
an already unaffordable national debt. And yet, the President has put us on a
course to make it radically worse in the years ahead."
Setting partisan politics aside for the moment, this is a discussion Americans
urgently need to have: When it comes to our spiritual, moral and economic
health, is America slowly and steadily improving and therefore should stay on
our current course? Or are we in grave danger of moral, spiritual and economic
collapse - at growing risk of imploding - and thus in need of a dramatic course
correction before it is too late?...
...Washington and Wall Street bear much blame for the mess we are in, but
doesn't the Church as well? If the American Church was healthy and strong --
faithfully walking with Jesus Christ, obeying the Scriptures, preaching the
Gospel, and making disciples -- wouldn't the American society be stronger and
healthier? Can we really hope that the 2012 elections will solve our problems
and rescue our nation, or ought we start praying and fasting for a Third Great
Awakening? To help seed the conversation, and to encourage churches throughout
the country to start discussing such issues...
...Please pray that I can communicate clearly and effectively the gravity of the
threats we face. Please pray, too, that I can communicate the power of our great
God to save us and heal our land if we will humble ourselves and pray and seek
God's face and turn from our wicked ways, according to
2 Chronicles 7:14..."Full
text:
State of the Union: Is America at Risk of Implosion?