LETTERS: DETERIORATING CULTURE CUTS ACROSS ALL LINES

To the editor:

Waxing scriptural for a moment (for those who may be inclined to listen to such things), it may be interesting for our present time to look at the stern denunciation by the Old Testament prophets Amos and Hosea of the people of Israel. Their words came just several decades before the demise of their kingdom.

In the kingdom of Israel, it was a time marked by almost unprecedented economic and commercial development. Expansion of trade and commerce resulted in a steady drift from agricultural pursuits and the countryside to city life. Characteristic of this period was the rise of successful middle-class businessmen, which was offset by the appearance of an urban proletariat. This came into being because of the wanton demands made by the luxury-loving upper classes upon the increasingly impoverished peasants and smallholders. These were compelled to abandon property and seek what employment was available in the urban centers. Thus resulted an ominous gap between the upper and lower social classes. Sound familiar?

Increasingly, various voices are focusing on our deteriorating culture as the culprit underlying our many societal problems, and culture it is. Sorry to say, material and technological affluence have spoiled us, just as in the days of Amos and Hosea.

However, this cultural malady is not propagated by any one segment of our society, not Democrats, not Republicans, not conservatives or just liberals (as Peter Kinder would have us believe). The indictment reaches from top to bottom, from left to right. We have (truly) met the enemy, and he are us.

Is there hope? Amos and Hosea say so. But before redemption and restoration, there must be honest acknowledgement of the shortcomings of all of us so that amazing grace may do its work.

GILBERT DEGENHARDT

Cape Girardeau