Information Related to "Is the United States Still a Moral Nation?"
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When Americans celebrated Thanksgiving in November, some believed that two different "nations" took time out to commemorate what the Plymouth fathers were so thankful to God for in 1621. These early pioneers reaped a considerable harvest after a bleak period of great hardship and starvation.
But consider further the popular notion that America is a nation divided along the lines of those who uphold traditional biblical values and those who do not. The facts reveal a much more complex picture.
The role of moral values
The role of morality has been heavily debated as a result of the November presidential election. Many people jumped to erroneous conclusions based on exit polls showing that the single issue prompting most voters to cast their ballots the way they did was that of morality—concerning gay marriage, abortion and the like.
Journalists and columnists on both sides of the Atlantic bought into this simplistic picture. One British writer put it this way: "Half the people believe the government has no place in personal healthcare decisions, including abortion. The other half believe abortion to be murder. Half the people believe sexual orientation should not be of concern to government; half say homosexual unions will lead to the end of civilisation" (The Guardian, Nov. 10, 2004 ).
In terms of the recent election, however, a number of American and British commentators would take issue with simple scenarios like this one. For instance, columnist Charles Krauthammer pointed out that "the exit poll is just a single poll. We had dozens of polls in the runup to the election that showed that the chief concerns were the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy" (The Washington Post, Nov. 12, 2004 ).
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Sidebar: Is It Anti-American to Criticize the Moral Conduct of the United States?
Sidebar: Christians in Name Only?
Table of Contents that includes "Is the United States Still a Moral Nation?"
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