Reason for Optimism in America

It’s easy to become overwhelmed as we listen to the news about America.  Everywhere we turn, we hear stories of murder, crime, and corruptions.  There are seemingly endless reports of rising taxes, political assaults, national debt, embezzlements, pollutions, immoralities, military actions, and attacks on family life.  When I find myself feeling overwhelmed by the problems, I turn to a very simple and direct quote from Dr. Cleon Skousen that brings things back into perspective:

“I am not pessimistic about the future.  I think the soul of America is going to be cleansed by events which will humble the whole nation and put us back on our knees where we can talk with God and recommit ourselves to lives of virtue and morality.  I am a great believer in the promise of God which appears in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says:

“‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’

“Of course, I know the skeptics, the immoral, the political sophisticates and the cynics might laugh at this scripture, but I believe it.  And I further believe that God will not be mocked and that if this nation does not seek God and turn from their wicked ways – their crimes, drugs, abortions and political corruption – there will be a crisis and a cleansing that will turn the people from their wicked ways and put them on their knees.  I have lived long enough to see this happen several times before. 

“But we need not be pessimists, just realists.  Every family needs to do whatever it can to put its house in order.  A home can become a refuge against the coming storm.  The love developed between parents and among children for their parents is God’s supreme formula for his kind of social security. Wherever I find families struggling to build these bonds of trust and love I know they are paying the dividends for a kind of insurance that will hold them together through the pressures and trials that may reach their peak one of these days. 

“Now I know you may have heard me say this before, but sometimes people say, ‘Dr. Skousen, you have studied the problems of our country most of your adult life, and yet you remain optimistic.  How can you be optimistic when you know from your own experience how serious things are?’“My answer is rather simple.  I tell them, ‘I have read the book, and in the end we win!’”[1]

In his inaugural address, President Reagan also expressed this same optimism when he said, “We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin.” God will bless America; whether or not we enjoy the process is pretty much up to us!

Learn more at www.TheGloriousCauseOfAmerica.org

[1] (God’s Hand in the building of America, Volume 1, Forward, by Glenn J. Kimber PHD & Julianne S. Kimber MA)