If my post conveyed a total negative connotation, my apologies. But this thread does illustrate a definite decline in the historical kindredness of God and Country. Our grandparents (or perhaps even our parents in some cases) would be shocked at the negativity in vogue here.
Well, I know my grandparents wouldn't be all that shocked. My 85 year old great uncle, an army veteran who was drafted within a few months of coming here during the Korean war who adores his chosen country, absolutely
hates religion. He's one of the most agressively atheistic people I know. He has told me stories about how
his father (my great grandfather) "also thought religion was a load of ****e". And they grew up in Ireland, an undoubtedly more religious country than the US has ever been. Hell, they actually have blasphemy laws.
Today.
I think that if people like that existed in Ireland (and technically in the US via immigation) 50-100 years ago, it's not all that absurd to believe that there has always been a diversity of thought in the US on this topic.
I think that what people view as a decline is actually just a product of being more exposed to the minority opinions today than they have been exposed to the minority opinions of the previous generations.
This increased exposure is caused by a few things, IMO.
First, you have the simple fact that minority views typically don't have the same degree of circulation as majority views do, at least historically. Technology has changed that a bit because anyone can share their views on a public forum such as this one. This allows people who hold minority views today to find other people who hold similar views far more easily than my great uncle could have done when he was younger.
Next, during the cold war and anti-communism era, there was a
huge negative connotation associated with being atheist. This is when God was
really injected into the political arena in the US. Being a god-fearing christian was better -
safer- than being some "godless commie". McCarthy was going around saying things like "Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity" back then. Lots of atheists were flat-out afraid to say a thing. People like my great uncle could not share their views as freely back then because it would lead to demonization for them. Definitely
not a good thing, IMO. But the opinions certainly existed. My great uncle was no less of an atheist then than he is today. He had the same negative beleifs about the ra ra "God and country" patriotism, he was just very wary of being an immigrant who
shared those opinions back then.
And the final factor with this idea that there is a "decline" is pure nostalgia. People remember their childhood unrealistically. I have a friend that is totally
convinced that it was safer here in Chicago when we were kids than it is today. Nothing will ever change his mind of that (trust me, I've gone over every fact and figure, it's pointless), but the fact of the matter is that Chicago's crime rates have dropped
dramaticaly since the 80's and early 90's when the two of us were growing up. But crime reporting has increased dramitically as well. Just as the claims that there is a
decline have increased. If something false is believed by enough people, and repeated by enough people, it eventually becomes a popular myth.
So my belief is that the
views about god and country haven't really changed at all, at least proportionally speaking. The ability for people who hold negative views to share those views
has changed, and I perosnally think that is a good thing. People should not have to fear sharing their opinions because of the intollerance of others.
That goes both ways, though. There
is a big problem today, but it is not with the decline in positive regard for religion and country. It is instead with the aggression of intollerant atheists. It certainly is not to the point where people need to
fear sharing their religious opinions in this country, but it certainly makes it less appealing for many to do so. And, perhaps even more importantly, it triggers an aggressive reaction from religious people. Ultimately, it is this aggressive, intollerant form of atheism that
leads to the kind of intollerance towards that McCarthy displayed becoming a popular position.
It leads to more aggresive attempts to incorporate religion and politics. If for nothing more than to tweak the noses of the intollerant atheists (I've actually heard this given as a reason to support certain types of religious displays).
So, IMO, the
real issue is intolerance, regardless of which side it comes from.
