“Being a great swimmer in a pool does not mean you’ll be successful in the ocean.”
In a movie The Guardian, that’s what Kevin Costner’s veteran swimmer character warns Ashton Kutcher, a new Coast Guard rescue recruit. A pool has a defined depth with a concrete bottom. The ocean has a bottom, but often miles deep. A tired swimmer can sink to the bottom of a pool and bounce back to the surface. Not so in the ocean.
I’m concerned that Americans believe our culture is in a shallow pool, not a deep ocean. One of my friends makes a good argument that America is simply experiencing a down cycle that will pass. I respectively disagree for three reasons:
- In decades past America did not have $20 trillion in debt. Interest on the debt is now and is projected to continue being the fastest growing area of federal spending in the coming years, outpacing even Medicare or Social Security. In 2015, the U.S. spent $223 billion, or 6 percent of the federal budget, paying for interest on the debt.
- In decades past the family unit was stronger. According to the 2010 census, between 1970 and 2012, the share of households that were married couples with children under 18 halved from 40 percent to 20 percent. The proportion of one-person households increased by 10 percentage points between 1970 and 2012, from 17 percent to 27 percent.
- In decades past the majority of Americans attended church where they learned rock-solid principles and values. Church attendance, however, has dropped from 40% to less than 20%.
I have not given up hope.
Why am I hopeful? First off, maybe my friend is right. We’re simply experiencing a down cycle and will bounce back as a stronger nation.
I place most my hope, however, in the men and women who are still willing to jump into the ocean to save drowning people.
And foremost, I know there still is God who has limitless power and authority to make all things good.
My job? Hang out with them and Him.
