SEARCHING FOR AMERICA'S FINEST HOUR: IT MAY BE COMING

I suspect if someone could ask each of the 273 million inhabitants of the United States to give the precise moment of America's finest hour, there might be more answers than citizens.

The exact moment at which this exceptional, often fractious society of ours reached its finest point may, according to many, have already been achieved. On the other hand, others undoubtedly believe the best is yet to come and that the American new millennium is still just around the corner.

When the British were stoically enduring night-after-night German bombings of their beloved London and the nation's industrial cities during World War II, Winston Churchill declared this moment in history as England's "finest hour." Anyone who later witnessed the almost total destruction of military and civilian targets would be hard-pressed to disagree. Closer to home, the final victory of colonial forces in America's War for Independence was a remarkable time in our history, as was our superlative military role in World War II.

But history does not always designate military ascendancy as the epic moment accorded by those who survived death on the battlefield. Some degree of modesty prevents me form agreeing with Tom Brokaw's designation of World War II as "America's greatest generation," possibly because as individuals, each survivor's contribution to the outcome seems personally insignificant. Speaking again personally, my wartime experiences pale to insignificance compared to the bloodshed of our troops in Vietnam's Mekong Delta in a war that was as unpopular as any ever undertaken by our country.

If there is ambiguity in precisely proclaiming America's finest hour or its finest generation, there appears to be little doubt among today's observers as to the exact moment of America's worst hour. Paraphrasing Pogo, we have seen the clock and it is now.

The truth of this apocalyptic view is the nearest foaming-at-the-mouth commentator, columnist, critic and self-anointed expert of historical moments. To a man, or woman, the collapse of this American community is about to begin, has already started or has reached such speed that it is not only irreversible but mortal to our great constitutional traditions and cherished institutions.

Indeed, it is virtually impossible to find any segment of our new millennial society that -- according to a small minority who have voluntarily and eagerly climbed into the human jury box to pass judgment on the rest of us -- is free of graft, indolence, greed, corruption and total and complete irresponsibility.

This increasingly dark view of the modern human psyche is not just the result of a quadrennial campaign period, nor can it be entirely attributed to what some view as an increasing disparity of fortune among our citizens or the disagreement on what seems to be an interminable number of issues on which the nation has divided itself. At times it appears the only subject on which there is anything close to a consensus viewpoint is the weather, although even this topic can be divided among those who blame environmental suicide and those who are satisfied it's only the high humidity making us so uncomfortable.

About five years ago, a Harvard political scientist named Robert Putnam published an article that seemed to set off this national debate. His piece was entitled "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital." According to the good doctor from Ivy League's hallowed ground, America's problem is that our once lauded "native cooperation," as observed an described by Alexis de Tocqueville, is in serious jeopardy. The problem is that in the five years since he last viewed our social demise, virtually all of the corroborating "facts" cited by Putnam have changed for the better. From the crime rate to poverty rates, America's statistics have steadily improved, so if these and a multitude of other factors cited have progressed, isn't it fair to ask: Hasn't our society improved?

Before you conclude that I am a terminal optimist, let me state I am unwilling to believe that all the problems besetting us will be resolved by the close of the current campaign or the end of the year or the inauguration of a new president or governor. Some of the weaknesses within our society refuse to be resolved overnight, some will require long years of hard if sometimes reluctant work on the part of more and more citizens who need to be involved, and some quite possibly are irresolvable.

What remains a concern to mature, responsible Americans is not the lack of virtue among those who are altogether far too human in their excesses. No, the real danger is in hearkening to the screams of terror shouted by those who have seemingly dedicated their lives to informing the rest of us how rotten and despicable we really are.

Whether these creatures of doom are addressing the foibles of a president, the inhumanity of a Congress, the inherent evil of anyone who has dedicated his or her life to public service or whether it is a tasteless entertainer or musician who would define our culture with guttural blasphemy, we must begin assessing ourselves from within. We need make no apologies for our lack of success in overcoming societal ills if we have carefully considered the consequences of these claimed dangers and have concluded they were mere wisps of faulty logic or political demagoguery or clumsy grasps at self-aggrandizement.

There are no Ph.D's in Wisdom or Fairness or Insight. These are attributes that either come easily or must be gained at considerable cost; nor are they inherent; they are learned and then acquired individually.

This is neither America's best nor worst hour. It is time, however, for us to learn the qualities each of us needs if we are to help reach the finest moment in America's history.

Godspeed, each and everyone of us.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.