“THE FONZ” WAS RIGHT

    The sitcom, “Happy Days”  was one of the most popular shows of the 1970’s.  It ran for ten years from 1974 to 1984.  The show was essentially a nostalgic look back at life in the late 1950’s.  A side character who rapidly became the main character was a loveable rough named Arthur Fonzarelli, “The fonz.”

    The Fonz definitely marched to a different drummer and on occasion dispensed wisdom far beyond his years.  In one particular episode he made the observation that, “It should be 1957 forever.”

    Most Americans living today were not even alive in 1957, but those of us who were alive and remember those days find a great deal of wisdom in what the Fonz said.  Almost 50 years have now passed since 1957 and we are in a position to look back and compare life in America today to what it was then.  It is true that there have been many technological advances but at the same time some things very precious have been lost.

    Yes, there were things that were a way of life in 1957 that definitely needed to be changed.  The worse of these, in my opinion, and which has since been changed to a degree but not as much as it should have been was segregation of the black Americans from the rest of society.  We have made progress in the right direction over the past forty years, but we still have a long way to go.  Having acknowledge that I would like to look of some other areas of American society where changes have been made that were changes for the worse.

    I would submit that for the average person, if given a choice between the society of the fifties and society today, having experienced both, would choose the society of the fifties.  We all enjoy technological advances today that were not available in 1957 and none of us would like to give them up.  However, it is not the technological advances that I am talking about.  I am talking about lifestyles  and relationships. 

    The first thing that has changed is the structure of the family itself.  The average family today no longer consist of a mother and father and their biological children.  We have coined a number of terms to describe the family that were virtually unheard of in 1957.  In 1957 there were basically two terms used; families and broken families.  The very term “broken family” indicated that the family was not functioning the way that it should be. 

    Today we have coined a number of politically correct words to describe various type of families: mixed family, single parent family, and dysfunctional family.  By dropping the term broken we have indicated that any one family arrangement is just as good as another.  As a result over the years “divorce and remarriage” has become more common place than “until death do us part.”

    This article was inspired to a large extent by an experience I had a few days ago.  I will answering questions on the phone related to an application I was making.  I was asked the question, “Is your wife’s last name the same as yours?”  I replied, “Yes, for the last forty-one years.”  The young lady responded, “Wow, there are not many like you around.”  How tragic that the idea of staying married for life has become so rare.

    No one would deny that the traditional family is under attack as never before in the history of our nation.  Even to the extent that we are now being told that same-sex marriage is just as normal and acceptable as traditional marriage.  The fact of the matter is that same-sex marriage (homosexuality) is an abomination in the eyes of God and totally repulsive to everyone except the sexual perverts what want to have their perversion accepted and legalized. 

    Additionally, anything but traditional one-man, one-woman for life is less than the ideal and far less satisfactory for everyone involved.  Ask any child if they want a mother and father who love each other.  Ask any man or woman if they would prefer to have a spouse who was totally dedicated to their happiness.  Ask anyone who has been though a divorce if they enjoyed it.  There is simply no denying that the traditional family as prescribed by God is the best of all possible arrangements.

   But there have been changes even within the traditional family that has weakened it.  Unlike the fifties, in most of the families today both parents work outside the home.  As a result young children come home to empty houses or spend time in a daycare center rather than at home with mom.  The teachable moments have been lost.  The child-parent relationship is not what it should be and we are seeing the results in our society.

    Crimes committed by children are increasing at an alarming rate.  We have more and more reports of children carrying guns to school and all too often using them on other children and teachers.  We find a morbid obsession with violence, whether it be in the movies, video games, or on television.  In too many instances our schools have become a dangerous place to be and our children have began acting out the violence they have been immersed it.  Furthermore, our schools themselves have contributed to the problem. 

    In too many instances they have become a hotbed for political correctness.  Every semblance of religion or the recognition of God is being removed.  It began with the removal of prayer had has escalated to a demand that the pledge of allegiance be removed also because it contains the words, “under God.”  The far left is pushing for a Godless society because they correctly understand that as long as God is revered in America they can never achieve their ultimate objective of a totally secular existence which is devoid of any moral restraints.  While they may cloak their agenda is per suave terms such as freedom of choice, expression and speech, their ultimate goal is the abolition of any form of moral restraints.  What is scary is how close they are coming to accomplishing their agenda.

   The current phase of their agenda includes the legalization of drugs, removal of all Christian symbols and expressions from the public square, legalization of any and every type of sexual perversion, and the abandonment of all moral restraints.

    To accomplish this they must totally destroy two of the three divinely ordained institutions.  God ordained three institutions.  The family, the church, and the government.  It is the third of these institutions that they are using to destroy the first two.  Unable to accomplish their agenda at the polls, they are increasingly turning to the liberal courts and judges of America to impose their agenda on the majority.

    It is for this very reason that the left, now totally controlling the democratic party, is so adamant in their opposition to the conservative judges that our president is appointing to federal benches.  They understand that if they loose the ability to achieve their agenda through the courts that the American people, who have denied them at the ballot box, will be once again able to determine our own destiny and their agenda will fail and be added to the ash heap of history.  This is why we are seeing the filibuster used against federal judges for the first time in out history.

    It is ironic and interesting that those seeking to destroy the traditional home turn around and use the absence of a stable home life to justify the acts of violence on the part of the children.

    Chuck Schumer, Teddy Kennedy and their liberal colleges love to claim that they have approved 204 of Bush’s 214 judicial nominees.  What they fail to disclose is that these approvals have been to the lower courts.  It is the appointees to the appellate courts that they have used the filibuster to block.  They know that as long as they can control the appellate courts and the Supreme Court they can get the lower court rulings reversed to accomplish their agenda.  This is why the use of the filibuster must be defeated and the constitutional provision for the rule of the majority must be reestablished.

    It is impossible to return to the era of the fifties but it is not only possible but imperative that we maintain the morality of the fifties if our society is to continue as one blessed by God.  It is imperative that “We the People” demand that our nation be “One Nation under God,” that our national motto remain, “In God we Trust,” and that our children not be denied the heritage that our fathers and grandfathers fought and died to preserve for us.

    Our president is trying to appoint judges who will respect and uphold the values that Americans have held dear from our inception.  These values are the basis for our Constitution and are not subject to change by liberal activist judges.  We as a people must now stand with our president and demand that the U. S. Senate confirm these good and honorable men and women.

   Times and circumstances change and we live in a very different world than that of the fifties, but right and wrong, moral decency and traditional values are both timeless and changeless. 

   May God see fit to continue to bless America.