Changes In Thomas Merton's Seeds Of Destruction

The universal and well-established axiom, that what goes up comes down, has relevancy in every aspect of our lives. It is evident that cycles of change create the ups and downs that affect every living creature. It is equally true that movements in the life cycle, going from birth to death and start to finish, are similar to the directions we take in life. We are constantly engaged in a system of movements that produce both advances and declines. It is of the more powerful traits that motivate mankind. On most levels, it usually tends to run from the highest level to the lowest. There are exceptions of course, as noted by Orson Welles, “I started at the top and worked my way down.” Even society, on a global scale, has experienced both great advancements in unison with serious declines.
From perhaps the 1970's onward there have been many claims that we are now in a state of decline similar to that experienced by other great world leaders.
Citing the decline of Rome, France, Spain and England, which dominated and influenced the world during their days of glory, many claim that their past now portends our future. Our society has become freedom affluent, to such an extent that we seem obsessed with rights, while ignoring responsibility. To paraphrase Thomas Merton in his book Seeds of Destruction, if a society adopts a position where the dominant philosophy is every man for himself, leading to the rejection of altruism and sacrifice, it can only find its way out of such an impasse by growing into a new society. The current culture shows a trend toward permitting activities that would be restricted under historical standards for morality, sexuality and freedom of speech. Many in our polarized society see the results as a decline in principals, religion, education and values. Abortion, promiscuity, and hedonism are in vogue, and have a corrupting influence on families, which must be the basic foundation of any
society.

With the institution of marriage under siege, with crime and violence at record levels, and ignoring responsibility and honesty, there are distinct signs of general chaos and frustration among the population. Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among adolescents. We also possess the largest prison population in the world. By the end of 2013 the number of U.S. citizens in jail or on parole was one in every 31. Currently we exceed 1.57 million residents in jail and God knows how many more should be in prison. The rate of suicides and incarcerations is an indication of a declining society. Perhaps one should revisit the remarks made by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, given at the graduation address at Harvard on June 8, 1978. This was an incisive analysis on why a nation divided against itself cannot stand. In his view the loss of willpower and moral poverty, will reach its final dimension in a harsh spiritual crisis and political impasse.

The current age has produced a rather unique situation, by developing a condition of a severe animosity among its people. The Civil War had produced an extreme version of this condition, which resulted in armed conflict pitting neighbor against neighbor. The current clashes of cultures between the traditionalist and progressives have now polarized the nation, to the extent that exchanges are no longer civil but vindictive. Concomitant to these classifications the radical conservative viewpoint becomes fascist, while the liberal ideology is at best socialism and at worst communism. Being kind and gentle has been replaced by being cruel and harsh. This polarization has led to a state of mental gridlock. Advocating a point of view, which one feels with total conviction, is