Online Tracts
Our Silent Society
Obscene, licentious pornography has become the monstrous evil it is in this country because an easy-going, comfort-loving society has silently allowed it to develop under our very eyes with scarcely a word of remonstrance while many of the nation's children's lives‹their moral, mental, emotional, and even physical aspect of life‹were at stake, and the country was sinking to its lowest depths of ignominy and shame. America is ravaged today by such evil forces as pornography, abortion, murder, theft, and rape. Probably none is more pernicious and heinous than the first mentioned: pornography, which strikes at the very central or foundational part of our existence as respectable people. It has been said that the best protection for a nation is its children which are the nation of the future. Also, an older adage has it that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and when the moral fiber of a people collapses, the whole falls into a shambles of ruin. America, today, stands in great peril of following the route of Babylon, Sodom, and Gomorrah, and countries, ancient and modern, that, historically, have perished because of sin.
It may be a bit difficult for some who have lived more or less sheltered lives to visualize the corrupting, sinister nature of this menace now confronting us; but it is here in our cities, towns, and almost anywhere one would care to look, and it is growing. It must be stopped or God's wrath will be poured out. It springs not from a single source, but has many contributing factors. It is, at the same time, a civil, moral, and legal problem. It affects the lives of all citizens and should be a concern to each one. It flaunts before the public much printed material which can only be called pollution, not literature, and can be purchased from many bookshelves and special counters, returning dollars in the millions of profit to these offenders of morality and promoters of crime. Obviously, money is the power that mostly feeds it and, in this lust-crazed age, all too many are willing to sell their souls and the souls of any others for the paltry lucre, and here they have struck a gold mine. Pornography is a big business.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; . . . But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Gen. 6:5-8. "And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, . . ." Gen. 7:7, 17, 21.
A passage of Scripture reads, "My spirit shall not always strive with man," which was copiously brought to pass in Noah's time. Does anyone suppose that Satan can submerge this present age into the sinking depths of this condition of sensualism and God will only wink an eye at it? "Be not deceived;" the Scriptures thunder, "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Gal. 6:7. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth," and the truth is that He has promised to judge this sin-bent world in righteousness. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:12).
First: Who are these people, and what are the elements responsible for this gross violation of law, decency, and morality? These are depraved souls whose consciences, wills, and affections have been perverted to an extreme degree. Perversion of conscience is evidently so strong that these people violate God's law‹the standing ethical code‹with no compunction. A life of sinful indulgence makes vice commonplace.
Second: Who is responsible? A number of principle factors are involved here and no one may escape total blame, for, I guess, all of us have had some shortcomings in character which have contributed in some manner to the lawlessness of society. The Scripture says, "All have sinned." And let us not overlook the fact that this vile printed material is being sold by many and purchased by millions of Americans, and herein lies its monetary profit and that which perpetuates it. A growing evil, especially more so in this past generation, is a tendency to assert self interest above all other principles of behavior. The emphasis is definitely on the side of the humanistic idealism resulting from an unfortunate mistaken concept in our schools relative to the law of discipline which would make allowance for a wider range of self expression. Let me reminisce a bit. For example:
In the early part of this century, the fall of 1905 to be exact, I began my school career in a one-room school just east of Syracuse. These were the days when school boards seriously endeavored to engage a male teacher for such schools as I attended, the hope being that a man would be better able to cope with and control some arrant boys of 17, 18, and even up to 20 years of age. These boys were often obliged to help their fathers on the farm, causing them to miss much schooling and extending their need for education. I had only been in school a few days when one of these older boys required disciplining, and instead of accepting the discipline, he offered to fight the teacher which he took upon himself to do. He was immediately joined by two other large boys and for a few minutes a tempest raged. I could only sit there trembling in fear and almost in tears. The teacher won and was able to command order and get on with the teaching of his class.
Back in the 50's I hired a scholarly young fellow to tend mason for me and became curious when he told me that he had just quit teaching high school. When asked why, he said he was tired of trying to control the class and concentrate on his teaching. I then asked him why he hadn't applied some severe disciplinary measures. He replied that if he so much as laid a forceful hand on any child, he would lay himself liable to a violation of school law. Whether this policy exists in schools everywhere or not, I don't know, but certainly it points up the need for a happy medium. Other high school teachers have intimated as much to me. It is a known rule that an army can't march without discipline, and teachers can't teach without order in the classroom. And so, this generation has encouraged a breed of hoodlums who know of no other law but self. This element in our society contributes heavily to the vices we are discussing.
About 20 years ago, a biased supreme court turned its back on God when decisions made by that court banned prayer and Bible reading in the public schools and, for the record, the quality of education has declined since. "Where there is no vision the people perish," has been brought to fruition by the recent number of drop-outs, drug addicts, and kids getting "stoned" which was unheard of in my school days. The evolutionary hypothesis is now being taught as a sure thing‹that man originated from some lower form of life, but nobody knows what, who, where, or when. Never mind, the important thing is that we must appease such atheistic and depraved minds as Mrs. Madeline Murray O'Hare at any cost. I mention her name only to show the growing tendency today to coddle and pacify those of any philosophy or theory opposed to the Christian religion and the existence of God. Any mention of the Creator, however, must be excluded from the teaching profession, but it is subtly sophisticated to speak of the human race springing from baboons. What an obtrusive kettle of fish! We who have been taught all our lives to reverence God; we who carry the insignia, "In God We Trust" upon our money, and we who devoutly believe that this government was founded upon the premise of faith, must mention His name no more in the public school! Yes, what a stigma to our moral heritage! It must have taken real intelligence to conceive such banishments of the Christian code; these who pride themselves in being agnostics which pertain, they say, to the beginning of wisdom. Conversely, I hold with the concept that agnosticism is the theory of ignorance. "The agnostic is a man who doesn't know whether there is a God or not; doesn't know whether he has a soul or not; doesn't know whether there is a future life or not, and thinks it is a waste of time to find out." ‹Dana.
So we have many furtive elements in our land militating against our respectability and regard as a moral people; grown men and women who commit themselves to deal in this obscene smut of pornography, now being perpetuated largely upon our children who are easy victims to their crimes. That such unrestrained liberty can exist in our country is scandalous and shameful beyond the extreme. Let alone, this growing menace threatens to engulf our nation. The paramount question is: Shall we stand helplessly by and permit this abomination and disgusting filth to prevail in our land? Or shall we, with united heart and effort, scream out relentlessly to utterly destroy it? Obviously, we can't just cope with it by civil action, for it is a spiritual issue. Therefore I urge every one who holds to value in prayer to be fervent in your earnest appeal to God that this blight on society be wiped out. It must be stopped, and it will be stopped when public opinion is so aroused that they will rise in righteous rage to stamp it out. Admittedly, the task has grown to great and extended proportions, but this is no excuse for laying down our arms; it is an impetus only to renew our courage and ''fight the good fight of faith." The title of this article is, Our Silent Society. We must reverse that to, The Vocal Majority. We must cry out loud and clear if America is to be saved from this curse. ‹Earl Langley
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