"And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand ”... (Mark 3:25)

 We are today witnessing  the  destruction of a Christian nation which has lost the understanding of what their nation has represented since their forefathers first gave them their blessed independence. I know destruction is an extreme term to employ but it is nevertheless true. Everything that nation has represented  for over two hundred years is now in jeopardy as we see men, with an agenda all their own, deliberately fostering hatred and mistrust amongst their fellow citizens in order to divide their people to serve their own ends.

Each day that passes sees more division among a people who all love their country and yet who have come to mistrust one another. This has not happened without  assistance. Those who  value power above all else have deliberately encouraged this enmity until it has now reached a state which threatens the very unity of the country itself.

 Americans are, in the vast majority, decent God fearing people and their patriotism and love for their country have always been qualities very much admired by those of us who have observed from a distance. It is sad, and frightening, to see what has occurred in recent years. And watching the compromising of their values by those  wielding the reins of power  has been like witnessing the crumbling of an invincible edifice with incredible feelings of profound sadness.

These days there is a preponderance of dialogue about 'values' in the United States and very little evidence of application of that principle. Talking about values when one doesn't in fact engage in the practice is hypocrisy taken to a whole new level.

 For a God fearing nation to embrace prisoner abuse as an acceptable method of dealing with  its enemies is beyond comprehension. The obscenity is only transcended by the recognition that this is reckless abandonment of their own young men and women presently facing incredible dangers in a foreign land,  and now placed in inconceivable danger by these new policies, at the behest of an administration which holds complete control over its country's fortunes, and which seems to have no  regard  for the ramifications of their policies.

 How can any American support and sanction such actions and in the next breath profess to be Christian ?   There is an explanation for this anomaly. The fact is, many Americans do not really know what their government is doing. They have been lied to, misled in any number of ways, and  had their belief in their faith abused as surely as the prisoners have been, and are being abused in the prisons in which they are being held in their name. People want to trust their leaders. Even those who lie to them. They do not want to accept that those they have entrusted with their faith could be so lacking in principle or moral values.  These actions are not the fault of the American people. The responsibility rests squarely upon the shoulders of the leaders in whom they have placed their trust. And so the division  widens as those who would tell them the truth are maligned and branded as unpatriotic, liars, enemies, and worse by those same leaders.

 Values are much more than a belief in your faith. Values are what you live by each and every day of your life. They encompass responsibility for one's actions and words,  respect for others, even those with whom we disagree, and a recognition that we are all God's children who answer ultimately to Him. Family values are a cherished part of everything we do or say and the example we set for our children is a very big part of teaching them to be caring and decent adults. All of these things are intrinsic to our value systems and when we compromise them  we make a mockery of our professed faith.

The tragedy is that in the name of defending American values, the present U.S. Administration has betrayed those values. I certainly am not suggesting we should not fear terrorism. But to almost the same degree, I fear the nation America is becoming as a result of this peril. The abrogation of moral authority, and loss of the moral high ground is creating a monster no better than those they would defeat.

 Because I know this is not a part of the moral fibre of Americans  it makes it even more difficult to see this taking place. I know Americans are better than this. I also know it is very difficult to admit one's trust has been misplaced and abused. None of us likes to admit we have been so grievously deceived. The knowledge, as it filters through the media, which has been so horrendously derelict in keeping the citizenry informed in recent years, is not going to be an easy truth for Americans to accept but accept it they must and sooner rather than later, before the soul of their beloved country is irreversibly scarred.

 To continue on the present path is to deny every tenet upon which America was founded and  to accept a concept which will ultimately destroy the country bequeathed to them so long ago by brave and patriotic men who placed their lives on the line to create the Republic they have taken such justifiable pride in all these years.  That those entrusted with the leadership of that Republic could so betray their people is a crime beyond imagining until recent years.

 Unless and until those leaders are called to account for their actions there will be no healing in America and no chance that  the peril we all face from the threat which  terrorism represents to all of us will see any resolution. The one ray of hope is that  the spirit of the American people will resurface and bring America's people together once more as the citizenry finally  recognize how their apprehension and fear has been used to  deceive and mislead them into turning on one another instead of uniting in common cause. When that occurs the American people will once again stand tall. It cannot happen soon enough not only for their sake,  but for the sake of every freedom loving citizen of this planet.

 It will only take Americans remembering the words of  Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States of America.