Virtue and morality are two pieces of a by-gone era. These two incredibly important bedrocks of society are no longer with us in America. But how? Why? What caused America’s moral degeneracy?
From my own perspective, I think there are quite a few reasons. But there’s one I’d like to pinpoint here to my readers. And that specific reason is the culture shift that has been fueled by decadence.
Decadence
Decadence is simply:
moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury
But its definition can go much farther than that. You have to really try hard to understand the backbone of this term.
So let’s take it apart, piece by piece. Just as our moral values have been taken apart, piece by piece.
moral decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury
We’ll start with:
moral decline
I’ve talked about this before, in the problems with democracy. But let’s review quickly.
Why is moral decline a negative?
General MacArthur said before that:
History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.
And he’s right. Every single country that begins the slide down the moral-decay road has eventually resulted in ruins.
Moral decline is an epidemic, something that should be vehemently protected against. Things that were once “taboo” becoming the norm and can cause serious detrimental harm to individuals and society as a whole.
You don’t have to look far to find an example of it. Sexual depravity, rejection of civil liberties, obesity, numerous “baby mamas”, the downfall of the nuclear family, rejoicing in criminality, rejection of virtuous religious traditions, et cetera.
But how does this fit into America’s moral degeneracy?
Let’s check the last part of the definition of decadence:
characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury
Ring any bells?
Americans are becoming increasingly more indulgent through pleasure or luxury.
Pleasure: by the means of sexual disgust (hard pornography, hookup lifestyle, appearances).
Luxury: by the means of greed (money, social status, over-consumption).
All the things pushed by Hollywood, media, elites, celebrities, and all the other people that many look up to for guidance (Even though they should definitely not be doing so).
America’s Cultural Degeneracy – Tying It Together
America is facing a moral decline. That is without question. Anyone that opens their eyes and breaks their bubble can see it.
And a principal reason why it is happening is through a culture fueled by decadence.
As we noted above, this over-indulgence in pleasure and luxury has led Americans to become interested in morally questionable things.
Instead of seeking virtue, morality, happiness, they seek social status, money, or a temporary high.
This is the new culture for many Americans. And most importantly, the kids growing up around it.
And culture is just the common collection of individuals living in one place, together. If their opinions and responses change, so does the culture. With this new, decadent culture, we can expect to keep seeing more degeneracy until it hits a boiling point, as General MacArthur and many others have noticed.
Check out our related article: The Culture of Obesity.
