Virtue, Freedom & Revolution: America's Need for Moral Restoration

When did Democracy mean “reality TV?” I can only imagine what the world might have been like had television cameras existed in the age of Christ (“Live from Jerusalem!”) or Socrates (moved from Fox to the History Channel; too boring) and Aristotle (PBS?). My guess would be our Western civilization wouldn’t be any worse than it is now. It was this same civilization that inevitably led to reality TV to begin with; who are we, so ignorant of human nature, to presume ideas can mean us either good or ill? But having said all that, I am vastly more concerned with our virtues. Virtues, as I define them, mean the moral intrepidity to determine right from wrong—and having the courage to stand by that steadfastness. Can a culture that puts so much stock in self maintain a virtuous identity? 

I grow alarmed when I look at the numbers. At the end of 2005, a Gallup poll found that 62% of Americans were dissatisfied with the state of the country while just 36% were satisfied. That could be because 79% Americans rated the state of our moral values as fair or poor and 77% say it will only get worse. Yes, America, I said seventy-seven percent. Though scandalously alarming, one should hardly be surprised given our love affair with all things amoral: money, sex, buns, breasts, penises, Botox, Oprah, spiritualism, diets, Viagra, hybrids and me, me, me. 

What can we make of this? Better still, what can we do to best move away from this moral quagmire, and begin to reshape our sense of justice and spirit? As a 26-year-old African-American from Charleston, South Carolina, I sympathize with those who feel a sense of moral emptiness. Growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, I saw for myself the vestiges of moral emptiness at its worse. I cannot tell you how many times I saw aged Black men and women lowering their heads at the sight of White people on the street. It was as if Rosa Parks had moved to the back of the bus. The hollow husk of racism, hate, poverty and bigotry left an entire city ripe with despair.