The Death of Integrity in America

Don Koenig 2008

Once upon a time in America a man's word was his bond, most people had Integrity. People did not even need contracts a handshake was reliable. Today, even if you have a written contract you have little guarantee that those who entered into the contract will even attempt to fulfill it. About one half of Americans simply cannot be trusted anymore.

I have been observing this trend toward a nation of people who lack integrity for quite some time. I guess you might blame it on postmodern thought where morals and truth are said to be relative. Nonetheless, hiding behind the philosophy of relativism does not mean that these people do not actually know the difference between good and evil. They really do, they simply choose to be selfish liars.

The root causes of the lack of integrity in America appears to be selfishness and having no empathy or love for others. Many people just no longer care what their own actions do to others. It is all about "me" and that is why this is called the "me generation".

Some might think the lack of integrity is limited to mostly the younger generation but that is not true. Lack of Integrity is found across the board. It seems that all age groups have now become infected with this selfishness through media brainwashing, bad example and permissiveness where there is very little negative consequence for doing what they know is wrong.

I guess on a Christian website we should first point out the lack of integrity of many of our Christian leaders. I am not going to get into self centered liberal, postmodern or legalistic theology in this article. They are subjects beyond the scope of this article. There have been obvious signs that there is a major problem in the lack of integrity in the clergy across denominational lines when top "Christian" leaders are constantly being exposed as pedophiles, fornicators, homosexuals, hypocrites, greedy, con artists, liars and thieves.

You would think our so called "men of God" would be above such things but apparently many are not. What you see on the news are only the high profile cases. That is only the tip of a iceberg. The sins of "Christian" leaders run deep and many so called fishers of men, ship's have been sunk due to lack of integrity.

Many pastors today simply cannot be trusted. They gossip and even lie about people in their own congregation and attempt to deceive their congregations on their own actions. You may believe you are speaking in confidence to your pastor but he often will just blab what you said to his buddies or the deacons who may blab it to everyone else. There are quite a few pastors who tell the congregation one thing on Sunday but they do the opposite on Monday because they lack personal integrity.

One problem in Christianity is that we hire unproved often immature Christian outsiders to lead our local churches instead of picking a proven person beyond reproach able to teach from within our congregations and sending them for advanced leadership and formal Bible training if it is necessary. The outsiders we pick have little allegiance to the local church and they are constantly job shopping for more money or a more prestigious position. They tell you God led me to this church this year but by next year they say that God suddenly is leading them somewhere else. As if God just decided that He wants them to leave their church cold without a shepherd so they can advance their own career.

Many of these same pastors say God told them to start this or that expansion program at their church but by the time it is done the pastor is long gone along with some of the congregation. Then the need for expansion no longer exists in the church just like the pastor who promoted it. So God was in the wind all along and not in the still small voice?

Frankly, many Christians are now fed up with the way churches operate and they have stopped attending. Many church boards either operate like a Mafia board or like a corporate board of directors. The meetings are contentious and control freak big contributors have undue influence. Besides from the opening prayer there is not an ounce of difference between the way many conduct internal church affairs and how the world runs their own businesses.

There also are many Christian societies and institutions that mainly exist to build elaborate buildings, fund raise, and pay the fancy salaries and expenses of those in charge.

The astute know what I am saying rings true about many Christian leaders and Christian institutions in America. Those that are the problem will never admit it. That is why Christian institutions led by people who lack integrity are constantly recruiting new members and givers and always looking for new gimmicks to increase their bottom-line.

Some Christians would rather deal with unbelievers in business then with Christians they are acquainted with because Christians often expect expensive favors. Or they will default on their dealing and expect you to forgive them their debt. At least with non believers you know what to expect.

Moving on to the secular world, about half of the businesses and services in America can no longer be trusted to give you what you paid or contracted for. Try finding someone who make a contract with you today to fulfill it as agreed tomorrow -- without litigation.

Try getting the earnest money on a house when someone backs out of their purchase contract for their own convenience and costs you much time, money and a selling season. Why does the State and lenders require real estate Inspections by the same people who stand to gain if they find a problem? They make it easy for those without integrity to rip us off.

Try getting rebates promised on items you buy or getting a company to honor a warrantee these days. Try getting your vehicle fixed without being ripped off by mechanics working on commission to sell you parts that you do not need. I could go on and cover most services in America but those living here already know that there is very little integrity found in the marketplace anymore.

Do we find integrity among the lenders when they loan to people they know will not repay but they do not care because they will just package the bad loans with the good and sell them like canned fish for financial predators? What about the greedy brokerages and banks managers who risked whole corporations in credit default swap casinos? Does anyone think that they are people of integrity? They should be in jail; instead many are rewarded with millions.

They were the real cause of the 2008 financial crises. They thought they could never lose because their own card counting experts told them they had a win win situation. They gambled everything they had and kept nothing in reserve in order to play for high stakes in the shadowy unregulated House of Cards Casinos. But they did lose because the House of Cards Casinos were given many counterfeit bills packaged by the sub-prime fish packers. Then the House of Cards Casinos could not cover their losses and the gamblers could not pay back their backers so they pressured and panicked Uncle Sam to pay off their bills by telling him his investment and retirement accounts would crash if he did not come up with enough cash to pay back the backers of the gamblers. So much for the integrity of those who hold and invest our money.

What about the buyers who asked for loans they knew they could not afford but they had nothing to lose because they put nothing down and the seller paid all their closing costs? Now these same people want the taxpayers to pay off their debts to keep them in the house they knew they could not afford in the first place. Are these people of Integrity? So far the lenders and the buyers lacking integrity have cost others in this nation trillions of dollars.

What about home builders who promise 2-10 year warrantees on your house but when you have a problem they put you on a waiting list and tell you it will take years before then can even get to your problem? Are these builders people of Integrity? What about the credit card companies that look for any reason to double your interest rates would you call them people of integrity? Do we find Integrity in the insurance companies who find any way possible not to pay?

In politics who has integrity? National politicians with integrity are rarer than diamonds and local politicians at best are members of self serving special interest clubs and at worst they are part of organized crime syndicates. In most cases the first priority is not to serve the people, it is to spin events so that they get re-elected or to raise special interest money to move up the political ladder. If you watched your local election ads I bet they were all accusing each other of something corrupt. With good reason I might add, it takes a crook to catch a crook. So who are you supposed to vote for when un-elected party heads lacking integrity insure that only corrupt people are placed on the ticket?

Few would accuse most national leaders of having integrity. They are always promising things they they know they can never deliver and once in office will not even try. There are many things they deceive the people about and cover up because they lack integrity. Most know our government is about bankrupt but only a few men of Integrity such as Ron Paul will dare to tell you the truth and then when they tell the truth they are mocked by the press who lack integrity.

Now people who lack integrity will abuse their power and try to panic the people to support taxpayer bail-out after bail-out and the national debt will be gradually turned up on Americans like frogs in a pot. They are counting on us frogs not jumping out of the pot before our goose is cooked for the feasting pleasure of several thousand global elite.

News media lies to us and spins news stories to promote the liberal views of their handlers and owners. Most of the reporters who have any personal integrity no longer work for main stream news media because they either got fired or could not advance.

People in education only teach the politically correct views of the secular humanist establishment so children will never learn anything outside of the politically correct socialist agenda. Many people of integrity have long since left the teaching profession as well. Those of integrity that remain often find their career is at a dead end.

Self serving men with no integrity buy air time on TV and lie to us about man caused global warming and the promise of cheap energy blowing in the wind. They do not tell you they they will make billions selling their expensive carbon credits, windmills and natural gas. They claim on ads that We the American people demand their expensive fixes within ten years but they are liars. We the people of America have never demanded to be robbed by these elitist wind bags and frauds. Men of no integrity think if they tell lies long enough and loud enough people will believe in their lies. It seems so far that they are correct because much of America is already brainwashed by them.

We the people of America tell those in office to drill here and drill now but those without integrity will not even have a honest vote on the issue in Congress. They think they know what is best for America and that is to make Americans slaves of the enlightened elite.

Illegal drugs are used by people with no integrity and they enable gangs that kill many thousands of people each year. Drugs and drug gangs are the biggest problem in the America's yet almost half of Americans have used illegal drugs. Why? Because they have no personal integrity.

Many of our high elected officials have used drugs and we even elect past drug users to the office of President even though such men would have a difficult time ever obtaining a basic security clearance. Yet, we will entrust our nation to them?? The users in America do not even care that they are destroying our society all they care about is getting high. They do not care that over a million people are in jail and ten's of thousand of people are now dead just to supply their "recreational" high. Everything is about their own lusts and damn the nation. People with no integrity use drugs and just blame the problem on the sellers.

Do people of Integrity make porno the number one business in America? Every city in America has people who prey on the innocent but nobody sees the porno connection? Children cannot even play on the street anymore and must fear strangers for darn good reason. However, the main danger is in their own homes and with people they know and trust.

No matter where you look you will see that there is very little integrity in America anymore. You can hardly trust anyone. With a nation filled with people with no integrity how can such a nation remain great? It cannot. America is now in great decline and we see that in every new "progressive" position she now embraces.

Progress to people with no integrity is more moral decline and the fulfillment of their own lusts.

There are two Americas in America but the one that now seems to prevail is the nation that is full of self centered lustful people without Integrity. Half of the nation is now doing whatever they can get away with and not what real Americans would be doing if they were still people of integrity.

May God have mercy on the America that still has integrity, His mercy will not endure on the other.

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