The Unhinging of America

The greatness of America is still a visible reality. Nevertheless, the mighty door which was set in place to guard its greatness has become dangerously unhinged. It hangs awkwardly ajar.

It is difficult to bolt a door with loose hinges, and therein lies the dilemma of America today. It is becoming unhinged.

The top hinge on the American door is its political structure. The bolts for this hinge were taken from the Declaration of Independence and the carefully chosen principles of the United States Constitution. Today, most of those bolts are loose in their holes.

The second hinge on the American door is the need for an educated citizenry. The Founders knew that unless the principles of their great success formula were carefully taught to the people, the genius of America could be lost in a single generation. The fact that the teaching of these principles constitutes one of the most neglected areas in education today accounts for a lot of the squeaks in the American door.

The third hinge on the American door is the national financial structure. No people can be politically free unless they are financially free. This important hinge has become wobbly indeed. The control of the people's money has long since been delegated by Congress to certain independent interests which have been convulsively mismanaging the economy ever since.

The fourth hinge on the American door is the judicial system. It was intended to provide equality and justice for all. This hinge has recently arrogated to itself the role of carrying the weight of virtually the whole door. The Chief Justice confesses that it is performing this impossible task most unsatisfactorily, something which has been obvious to the rest of us for quite some time.

The fifth hinge on the American door is national security. Ever since World War I, politicians have been playing fast and loose with the defenses of the nation. Reckless policies of indifference toward the Monroe Doctrine, as well as the feeding, fondling, and coddling of an avowed enemy has now required an escalation of the defense budget to more than three hundred billion dollars per year. To our posterity these policies will undoubtedly appear to be a syndrome of near insanity.

The sixth hinge on the American door is the foundation for all the rest. It is the ideological strength on which the door was originally hung. The bolts which fasten this hinge in place are the moral and spiritual values which the Founders intended to make the strongest bolts in the entire structure. As John Adams pointed out: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." The loosening of these bolts is undoubtedly the major source of the social instability which presently plagues the nation and causes the American door to creak upon its frame.

America has a repair job to do. Each of its six hinges must be fastened tightly into place again. There will never be a genuine assurance for the greatness of America in the future unless we do.

Fully illustrated. Footnotes linked within the text. Complete table of contents.