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''TO
KI·LL A
PEOPLE''
Ws not
too
late for Americe, but it' s later than
you
think .
While millions sleep, history's greatest single nation edges
nearer an awful chasm. Drained by war, torn by crime, sick
with drug abuse, ridden with immorality, driven with lust,
stricken with senseless procrastination, lack
of
purpose, flag–
ging loyalty,
economic
sickness and spiritual poverty,
a
great
nation looks over the edge into chaos .
W
E DON'T
know why we are.
America has no great cause.
There is no great goal toward
which we unitedly press. There is no
great single unifying bond, no common
spiritual dedication, no deep, transcen–
dental purpose for which we strive.
Most Americans have forgotten how
to sacri fice.
We!re sick. And our greatest sickness
is our stubborn refusal to acknowledge
our own moral and spiritual poverty.
To diagnose our many illnesses is to
invite snorts and sneers from a rising
numb'er of "super patriots" whose
stock-in-trade is the big-business, cham–
ber-of-commerce attitude of "Let's talk
about what's right about America."
Fine. Let's. We are the greatest single
power the world has ever known. We
have risen to dizzying heights of tech–
nological development and scientific
achievement. American footprints dot
the moon. Our language, our culture,
our products have girdled the globe.
We have been blessed with the most
fabulously rich piece of real estate on
the good earth. Our standard of living
has risen to opulent heights never imag–
ined in the science fiction of yesteryear.
We're rich. Filthy rich.
And we're also very sick. Sick with
our own affiuence - with crime, por–
nography, disease, unemployment, infla-
by
Garner Ted Armstrong
tion, divorce, massive urban crises, racial
inequality; and our most precious
national resource, our youth, is sick.
Today, our nation's youth spurns and
rejects almost every facet of all that
can be called the "status quo" achieved
by the older generation.
They're sick to death of lying, cheat–
ing, double standards. They're sick of
the "don't do as
J
do, do as
r
say do"
hypocrisy of a generation of used-up
self-seekers whose goals of materialism
have resulted in the conditions all
around us. They're sick of useless
wars, undeclared, unnecessary and
unfinished.
But one sickness doesn't heal
another. Two wrongs never make a
right.
America desperately needs a
great
cause.
She needs a vital, living,
noble, just
PURPOSE.
Maybe it's not too
late for the younger generation to suc–
ceed where their elders have fai led.
Maybe they
can
yet catch the vision of a
great cause, a dynamic goal which calls
for, and is worthy of, great sacrifice.
In his inaugural address, President
Nixon said: "We find ourselves rich in
goods, but ragged in spirit." He said
ours is a
"crisiJ of the spirit,"
and
added that,
to
solve "... a crisis of the
spirit,
we need an amwer of the spirit."
But what has happened to the
spirit
of America?
Where wcnt our
pride?
The Waniog of Patriot ism
Never before has there been a time
when Americans found they could
argue by merely mentioning the name
of their country. Today, Americans dis–
agree about America. They're not sure
- sorne of them - what America is.
Great voices of protest are heard
from every conceivable source. Sneers
from young, would-be revolutionaries
are answered by hoarse shouts from
hard-hats and super-patriots. The
"America, love it or leave
it''
bumper
sticker is answered by the "America,
change it or lose it" slogan.
Sorne say America is faHing apart.
Others say America has never been
better.
Politicians, sensing the public weari–
ness over gloomy reports, plead for a
"what's good about America" dialogue.
The rhetoric of Vice President Agnew
is answered by the acidic tongue of the
ultra liberal, or the young "New
Leftist."
Incisive analysis of society's ills
has always brought rebuttal and
disagreement.
But now it brings angry shouts of