Slouching Towards 250 Years?

Almost 30 years ago, the brilliant jurist Robert Bork wrote an impressive book on the tenor of the times entitled Slouching Towards Gomorrah. In it, Bork lamented our collective slide into immorality as evidenced by the increasing rate of violent and other crimes, the high divorce rate, legalized abortion, increased use of illegal drugs, increased dependency on the welfare state, and the general coarsening of cultural behavior. Although Bork was too much of a gentleman to mention it, he could well have included the nasty, unjustified treatment he endured during his Supreme Court nomination hearings in 1987, particularly from Democrat Senators Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy. He did make it clear that in his view, modern liberalism was largely responsible for the sad state of affairs. The main thrust of the book was an ominous warning that if our society kept down its current path, America’s future was in jeopardy. Given our current situation, it seems that Bork was prescient.

Perhaps the most compelling illustrations of society’s decline are the choices we have made for president over the last 30 years. Although the current focus is on Donald Trump and his oftentimes boorish behavior, Democrats have little to be proud of regarding their party’s recent presidents and candidates. To wit:

• Bill Clinton and his well-documented dalliances, including the infamous Oval Office affair with Monica Lewinsky. What was often lost in the moral arguments and counter-arguments was the national security risk an affair with the wrong person (e.g., a Chinese or other adversary’s “plant”) would create. As Bork noted, writing as Clinton was being reelected, “Since the 1992 election, the public has learned far more about what is known, euphemistically, as the ‘character’ issue. Yet none of this appears to affect Clinton’s popularity. It is difficult not to conclude that something about our moral perceptions and reactions has changed profoundly.” His conclusion about Clinton’s behavior is that it would have been disqualifying to previous generations. And Clinton’s Teflon-coated popularity was a harbinger of what was to come, as shown by today’s shameless Democrats. Detached from the evil realities of their policies, they double or triple down on them instead of compromising, knowing they will still get enough votes to exercise power. Results of recent off-year elections seem to confirm this.
• Barack Obama and the borderline impeachable offenses that his administration and a compliant media swept under the rug. And like Trump, Obama made some outrageous statements about groups or opponents he didn’t like. For instance, his hostility toward capitalism was evident in this rant about private business: “You didn’t build that! Someone else made that happen!” Or his shaky relationship with the truth regarding his signature achievement, Obamacare: “If you like your doctor, you can keep him. If you like your plan, you can keep it.” For millions of Americans under Obamacare, this has obviously not been the case.
• Hillary Clinton, who, with a bit more campaigning in the swing states, may have beaten Trump in 2016. That lack of effort exposed the arrogance and sense of inevitability and entitlement Ms. Clinton felt about becoming president. Whatever we may think of Trump, we should be eternally grateful that he campaigned hard enough to beat Clinton and avert the disaster her presidency would have been.
• Joe Biden, who never should have sniffed the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, had too many stumbles and bumbles to list here. Suffice it to say, his caving to the far-left base of his party was the main reason, although not the only one, that his presidency was an ongoing disgrace that rivals the worst holders of that office in our history. His pandering to youthful cultural icons such as hip-hop star Cardi B showed the sleazy depths modern politicians will go for some votes.
• Kamala Harris, whose far-left views made Obama, the most liberal U.S. Senator of his time, seem moderate by comparison. As many cringe-worthy moments as Trump has provided in his second term, these pale in comparison to the damage a Harris presidency would inflict on our already foundering and divided republic.

And for those who, in their contempt for Trump, wish to return to the days of George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney types as Republican leaders, the shortcomings of this threesome need to be reemphasized. Bush’s presidency was overwhelmed by the Iraq War, which removed the tyrant Saddam Hussein from power but left a vacuum in his wake that has been filled by the theocrats running Iran. McCain and Romney both lost elections to Obama by being afraid to be true conservatives and providing a choice, not an echo.

In a new Afterword to his book, Judge Bork reviews recent disturbing trends in our laws and society, with special attention to censorship, gender issues, race relations, and the ongoing erosion of American moral values. As the updated book review states, the alarm he sounds now is more sobering than ever. To wit: we can accept our fate and try to insulate ourselves from the effects of a degenerating culture, or we can choose to halt the destructive beast and oppose modern leftism in every area. The will to resist in the face of mass opposition and ridicule, he warns, remains our only hope. Will patriotic Americans use the upcoming 250^th anniversary of our nation to turn the ratchet of history back toward common sense, personal responsibility, and freedom, or will we continue down the road to perdition with blinders on?